Bàn luận: Lead Firm Dominance, Relational Governance, and Domestic Supplier Upgrading
The structural organization of electronics global value chains reflects asymmetric governance hierarchies that condition the integration and upgrading pathways of domestic suppliers. Superstar multinational enterprises deploy both equity and non-equity investment modes to coordinate transnational production, which significantly shapes host-country technological spillovers and firm-level productivity dynamics (Foreign Direct Investment in the Context of Global Value Chains and Superstar Firms, 2021). While foreign direct investment inflows generate initial opportunities for local participation, the monopolistic attributes and relational governance strategies of dominant lead firms often limit the scope of local functional upgrading. Domestic suppliers frequently encounter substantial relational costs and distributional disparities that restrict their role to low-tier assembly tasks, thereby hindering technological absorption and indigenous innovation under preferential trade disciplines. Concurrently, the emergence of advanced digital business models and automated production systems alters the spatial distribution and coordination of international investment flows within global value chains (IMPACT OF INDUSTRY 4.0 ON GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS, BUSINESS MODELS AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, 2021). These technological shifts intensify lead firm requirements regarding precision and quality standards, making supplier upgrading dependent on deliberate institutional support and enhanced absorptive capabilities. Within the regulatory framework of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, standard investment rules alone remain insufficient to bridge the capability divide between multinational enterprises and domestic firms. Host-country policy frameworks must actively address the underlying relational friction and equity imbalances by fostering direct technological spillovers, encouraging high-value joint ventures, and establishing targeted domestic sourcing mechanisms that empower local suppliers to transition from dependent contract manufacturers into technologically autonomous industrial partners.