Institutional governance tensions within global value chains: the study of the Vietnam textile and garment industry

Global value chain (GVC) analysis serves an important role in the global economy and development. Whereas research on governance is well documented in GVC research, only recently has the institutional context emerged as a new dimension of GVC analysis. This thesis integrates critical frameworks of governance, including the five types of governance of Gereffi et al. (2005) and institutional theory with the four mechanism of Beckert (2010), to develop further analysis of GVCs. These frameworks are fundamental for exploring the nature of problematic issues, such as tensions, in re-shaping GVC structures. The research employs method triangulation in both data collection (semi-structured interviews, observations and documents) and analysis (thematic analysis, discursive devices and institutional logics) to achieve the research objective of solving the institutional governance tensions within GVCs in the research setting of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Industry. The findings show that tensions stem mainly from two resources, symmetrical power and new circumstances. Although tension is often neglected or considered a negative factor in management, it can motivate creative responses and effectively serve as a motional factor. In any form, the influence of tension on GVC structures occurs in both convergent and divergent trends but creates a new balance of power between actors in the chain