Introduction

1. Introduction The Role of Intermediaries in Promoting KnowledgeFlows within Global Value Chains Presentation Outline • Provide a brief summary of my research • introduce relevant literatures • Outline preliminary results Ian Clarke /Globelics Academy Presentation

2. GVCs, Clusters and Upgrading • Gereffi, Humphrey and Sturgeon use the Global Value Chain (GVCs) concept to illustrate the disintegration of production “the key insight is that coordination and control of global-scale production systems, despite their complexity, can be achieved without direct ownership” (2005: 3). • Different governance patterns within GVCs can be identified • Developing economy firms and clusters have opportunities to -process upgrade -product upgrade -functionally upgrade (eg Humphrey and Schmitz, 2000; Pietrobelli and Rabellotti, 2006).

3. Intermediaries Howells defines an innovation intermediary as “an organization or body that acts as an agent or broker in any aspect of the innovation process between two or more parties” (2006: 720). • Intermediaries can be private organizations, NGOs, individuals, professional bodies, research councils, advisory bodies or trade unions. • The role of intermediaries - scanning - mediating - engaging

4. Intermediaries and Knowledge Flows • Types of knowledge flows - intra-firm - intra-cluster - extra-cluster • Gereffi et al’s analysis of knowledge flow within GVCs (2005) • Brown and Duguid’s analysis of ‘sticky’ and ‘leaky’ knowledge (2001)

5. Latin American Systems of Innovation • Latin American countries are, in general, considered to have relatively weak National Systems of Innovation ( eg Alcorta and Perez, 1998; Melo, 2001) • The Peruvian NSI is weak compared to other Latin American countries

6. Preliminary Results • Mango cluster (northern Peru) Intermediary – US National Mango Board Type of upgrading – process • CEPICAFE (Puira, north Peru) Intermediary – French and German NGOs • Type of upgrading – product and process

7. The Next Steps • Two important questions:- What are the intermediaries position within the GVC? What are the mechanisms through which knowledge flows? • Developing my framework of analysis - Gereffi et al’s framework - Social Network Analysis

8. Bibliography • Alcorta, L and Perez, W (1998) Innovation Systems and technological specialization in Latin America and the Caribbean. Research Policy, Volume 26, pp857-881 • Brown, J. S. and Duguid, P (2001) “Knowledge and Organization: A Social-Practice Perspective” Organization Science Vol 12, No 2, pp198-21 • Gereffi, G, Humphrey, J and Sturgeon, T (2005) Thegovernance of global value chains Review of International Political Economy, 12: 78-10 • Giuliani, E (2003) Knowledge in the Air and its Uneven Distribution: A story of a Chilean Wine Cluster Paper: Druid Winter Conference, Aalborg 16-18 January 2003. • Howells, J (2006) Intermediation and the role of intermediaries in innovation.Research Policy 35: pp 715-728 • Humphrey, J and Schmitz, H (2000) Governance and Upgrading: Linking industrial cluster and global value chain research IDS Working Paper 120 • Melo, A. (2001) The Innovation Systems of Latin America and the Caribbean. Research Department Working Paper 460, Washington, Inter-American Development Bank. • Pietrobelli, C and Rabellotti, R (eds) (2006) Upgrading to Compete:Global Value Chains, Clusters, and SMEs in Latin America Washington: Inter-American Development Bank