The value chain upgrading: a focus to the firm-level

Abstract

The upgrading involves different levels of the organizations. In this thesis the focus will be on the upgrading processes that can be carried out at a firm level, with the consequent upgrading of the whole value chain. After the first part of analysis on the literature concerning the global value chain, its governance and the different types of upgrading levels that can be performed, the attention will be moved towards the case of the TEXA company. The aim of the work is to understand how a made in Italy company has been able to survive and to register a very positive path of growth in a scenario that has been far from favorable during the last 20 years. Through a series of interviews to the management and analysis of the data, the period that is considered is the whole 20-years of the activity, with a particular attention to the last 13 which have seen the growth of the internationalization process. The changes that have occurred throughout this period have affected the process, functional , end-market and, marginally, the product upgrading, with the consequent upgrading of the whole value chain. An analysis of the situations before and after the upgrading processes will show how the company has been transformed over the years. The positive trend shown in the growth of the firm demonstrates how the company has been able to invest in its core competencies while being able to explore unknown paths, all driven by the pursuing of the “made in Italy” values that have been characterizing the company since its foundation.