Social upgrading of global value chains: social versus commercial enterprises

The topic of this PhD research is the social upgrading of global value chains. More specifically, this project will focus on the diffusion strategies of social and environmental practices between lead firm and its global suppliers. The aim is to understand how firms enable successful social upgrading of suppliers and whether this social upgrading also goes hand in hand with economic upgrading. As an empirical context we will use a sample of social enterprises as well as commercial enterprises to allow for comparison between different types of firms. Social enterprises typically have both an economic and a social objective. This could lead to very different strategies and implementation levels of social and environmental practices compared to commercial enterprises. Also, the role of host and home country institutions will be investigated.