McCormick+Schmitz Handbook for value chain research on - PACA

findings. The final write-up of a case may range from a page or so to more than 50 pages,
depending on its purpose and the <strong>research</strong>ers’ resources.
Case studies of networks require the additional dimension of studying the relationships
among actors as well as the actors themselves. A network is generally defined as a
specific type of relation linking a defined set of persons, objects, or events. Since a <strong>value</strong>
<strong>chain</strong> is essentially a network of producing firms and their related suppliers, distributors,
and service providers, the techniques of studying networks are pertinent here. The
<strong>research</strong>er can examine the nature of the relationship between actors on any number of
dimensions. He/she may, <strong>for</strong> example, ask whether the relationship is horizontal or
vertical, i.e., between actors at the same level of the <strong>value</strong> <strong>chain</strong> (e.g., producer-toproducer),
or between actors at different levels such as a producer and its suppliers.
Alternatively the <strong>research</strong>er may be interested in the origins of the relationship. Did the
two parties go to school together or meet through a business association? Or the
<strong>research</strong>er may want to know about the content of the relationship. Is the relationship
between producers and their distributors simply one of market exchange in which goods
are sold? Or is the basic exchange relationship also the occasion <strong>for</strong> passing along market
in<strong>for</strong>mation? Value <strong>chain</strong> <strong>research</strong>ers are often especially interested in power relations.
Who sets the rules that others in the <strong>chain</strong> must follow? Who exercises the greatest
power over what is produced and how it is priced?
The first step in network analysis is to specify the boundaries of the network. The need <strong>for</strong>
this is obvious in the case of social networks, but even in <strong>value</strong> <strong>chain</strong> analysis the
boundaries must be set. In the analysis of a garment <strong>chain</strong>, <strong>for</strong> example, will the vertical
dimension go back only to textile firms or all the way to yarn producers or cotton
growers? Will relations with all suppliers be studied or only with those supplying major
inputs?
The next step is to decide how to select network members <strong>for</strong> study. A snowball method
is often used. The <strong>research</strong>er identifies a sample at a given level - say garment producers -
and then snowballs outward to get those firms’ suppliers, distributors, and service
providers. If time and resources permit, the snowballing can have more than one starting
point. You could, <strong>for</strong> example, start with two samples, one of garment producers and
another of textile firms, and trace the relations from both sides.
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