Scale development and validation for economic upgrading within global value chain (GVC)

The role of supplier firms in upgrading is emphasised within the literature of global value chain (GVC). However, there has not been a valid measure to assess upgrading making it difficult to empirically measure the extent of upgrading is occurring in the supplier firms. This study constructs and tests a measure of economic upgrading using a sample of Bangladeshi garment suppliers, and assessing four multi-item scales. The measure was found to be reliable, as well as have convergent and discriminant validity. Several suggestions are provided for using the measure in subsequent research and managerial decisions are offered.