Who Controls the Digital? Value Chains and the Challenges of Connectivity for East African Firms
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Date
2018Author
Foster, Christopher
Graham, Mark
Mann, Laura
Waema, Timothy
Friederici, Nicolas
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
In recent years, internet connectivity has greatly improved across the African continent. This
paper examines the consequences that this shift has had for East African firms that are part of
global value chains (GVCs). Prior work yielded contradictory expectations: firms might
benefit from connectivity through increased efficiencies and improved access to markets,
while they might also be further marginalized through increasing control of lead firms.
Drawing on extensive qualitative research in Kenya and Rwanda, including 264 interviews,
we examine three sectors (tea, tourism, and business process outsourcing) exploring
overarching, cross-cutting themes. The findings support more pessimistic expectations: small
African producers are only thinly digitally integrated in GVCs. Moreover, shifting modes of
value chain governance, supported by lead firms and facilitated by digital information
platforms and data standards are leading to new challenges for firms looking to digitally
integrate. Nevertheless, we also find examples in these sectors of opportunities where GVCs
are not able to cater to emerging niche customers, and local or regional markets.
Overall, the study shows that improving connectivity does not inherently benefit African
firms in GVCs without support for complementary capacity and competitive advantages.
URI
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c946/83601abaae01be5f60394dfa1f1e28019405.pdf?_ga=2.49088998.1544761439.1568012976-1875806995.1565858563http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/107097
Citation
Foster, Christopher, et al. "Who controls the digital? Value chains and the challenges of connectivity for East African firms." Economic Geography (2017).Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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