Call for Papers: Advancing Sustainability of Critical Supply Chains in Developing Countries

The Research Network Sustainable Global Supply Chains will organise a scientific conference “Advancing Sustainability of Critical Supply Chains in Developing Countries” at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (and online) on September 26 and 27 this year.

Prof. Laura Boudreau Ph.D. (Columbia Business School) will give the Keynote Speech.

This conference aims at discussing recent research related to sustainability in global supply chains (GSCs), with a focus on impacts in developing countries. While sustainability concerns permeate various sectors in developing countries, certain industries such as agriculture, forestry, mining, and textiles are more strongly affected.

Research contributions that address the sectors most prone to environmental and social externalities are particularly invited. Contributions from economics, development studies and international business studies are welcome.

Suitable topics can be, but are not limited to, the following:

• Firms: What are challenges in monitoring sustainability in global supply chains? What do growing expectations to be responsible for the social and environmental impacts of business activities mean for the relationship between buyers and suppliers?
• Perspectives on sustainability: Do firms from developing and developed countries differ in their approaches to managing social and environmental issues in global supply chains? What does this mean for competition between countries and organization of global supply chains?
• Host country institutions: Which factors may affect the effectiveness of multinational companies’ private governance initiatives in host countries?
• Global supply chains under attack: What is the impact of industrial policies, competition for access to raw materials, or disruptions due to wars or pandemics on the structure and organization of supply chains? What do these developments mean for developing countries? Could Africa, for example, benefit from a diversification of supply chains?
• Developing countries’ participation in supply chains: How do market structures affect the chances for upgrading? What role do standards play? Could regional integration schemes such as the AfCFTA facilitate participation in supply chains?

Paper submission:
Please email your paper or an extended abstract to Ms. Frauke Steglich (frauke.steglich@ifw-kiel.de)  in a pdf file indicating ‘IfW GVC Conference 2023’ in the subject heading. The submission deadline is July 31, 2023. Notification of acceptance will be sent out until August 10, 2023.

The Research Network Sustainable Global Supply Chains is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The research network aims to synthesize and process existing knowledge and initiate new research on sustainable global value chains for evidence-based policy recommendations. The project is jointly led by the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS, Bonn), the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA, Hamburg), the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW, Kiel), and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP, Berlin).

More information about the call can be found here.

Contact: Frauke Steglich (Frauke.steglich@ifw-kiel.de; +49(0)431-8814-360)