Linking Developing Country Firms’ Relational Capital to Their Export Performance in Global Value Chains: The Moderating Role of Technological Turbulence

Authors

  • Misbah Uddin Chowdhury Global Management Studies Department, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Sui Sui Associate Professor, Global Management Studies Department, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Horatio M. Morgan Associate Professor, International Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
  • Dandan Li Associate Professor, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Dalian, Liaoning, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55482/jcim.2024.33509

Keywords:

developing country firms, global value chain, relational capital, interfirm learning, technological turbulence, export performance

Abstract

Global value chains (GVCs) involve globally dispersed activities among interdependent firms. They provide an avenue for developing country firms to improve their export performance. A dominant view is that they can accomplish this outcome with close or trusted relationships with more established GVC partners. However, other factors determine how much such relational capital translates into superior export performance. Drawing on an interfirm learning perspective, we explain why the export effects of developing country firms’ relational capital with GVC buyers and suppliers could depend on technological turbulence. We hypothesize a positive relationship between these firms’ export performance and their relational capital with GVC buyers and suppliers. But we expect technological turbulence to weaken this relationship. Based on a sample of 95 Bangladeshi firms in the ready-made garment industry, this quantitative analysis reports evidence that partially supports our predictions. Specifically, we find a positive relationship between these firms’ relational capital with GVC buyers and their export performance. In addition, the higher the technological turbulence, the weaker this relationship. Overall, this research adds to the theory and practice of interfirm learning in GVCs from the perspective of developing country firms.

Author Biographies

Misbah Uddin Chowdhury, Global Management Studies Department, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Misbah Uddin Chowdhury is a Business Banking Specialist with TD Canada Trust. He graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University in 2020 with the submitted article as his thesis, and he is keenly interested in the global value chain and developing country strategies.

Sui Sui, Associate Professor, Global Management Studies Department, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Sui Sui is an Associate Professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). Her expertise focuses on International Entrepreneurship (IE) and Corporate Board Diversity (CBD). Dr. Sui has made significant contributions to academia, publishing in prestigious Financial Times Top 50 journals. Her work encompasses the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Venturing, and others. She holds roles as Associate Editor and Editorial Reviewer for multiple international journals and is an active member of the Diversity Institute at TMU. Dr. Sui’s research promotes diversity and inclusion, and she is dedicated to mentoring graduate students in Global Management Studies.

Horatio M. Morgan, Associate Professor, International Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Horatio M. Morgan is an Associate Professor of International Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the University of Waterloo’s Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business. His research spans international entrepreneurship, international strategy, immigrant entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial finance. This includes research that examines the influence of owner- and team-level influences on firms’ international strategy and performance. Horatio’s work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, such as the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Venturing, and the Journal of Management. Media outlets such as CBC News, Vancouver Sun, and Huffington Post Canada have covered his work.

Dandan Li, Associate Professor, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Dalian, Liaoning, China

Dr. Dandan Li is an Associate Professor of Finance at Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, China. She received her PhD in Economics from the University of Bath, UK. Her research interests include financial technology (FinTech), digital economy and cryptocurrencies, international finance, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), entrepreneurship, and AI in finance. She has published Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) paper in International Review of Economics and Finance, International Review of Financial Analysis, Multinational Business Review, etc. She also published Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (CSSCI) paper in the journals of Statistics and Decision, Modernization of Management, etc. She has participated in more than 10 provincial or national research fund projects in China. The research results have received numerous awards, such as Social Science in Liaoning Province, “One Billion Talents” in Liaoning Province.

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Published

2024-06-19

How to Cite

Chowdhury, M. U., Sui, S., Morgan, H. M., & Li, D. (2024). Linking Developing Country Firms’ Relational Capital to Their Export Performance in Global Value Chains: The Moderating Role of Technological Turbulence. Journal of Comparative International Management, 27(1), 31–42. https://doi.org/10.55482/jcim.2024.33509

Issue

Vol. 27 No. 1 (2024)

Section

Research Articles

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