Digital technology-enabled governance for sustainability in global value chains: a framework and future research agenda

Upholding sustainability in the global value chains (GVCs) is a new reality confronting multinational enterprises (MNEs). Although MNEs have realized why they need to take action to govern sustainability issues in the GVCs, how to implement this governance is unclear. In this article, I revisit the essence of governance mechanisms, propose a range of digital technology-enabled governance mechanisms and discuss how they overcome the constraints of traditional control and coordination and allow MNEs to uphold sustainability in their GVCs. Specifically, I draw on and integrate ideas from internalization theory and the literature on digital technologies to inform on the key mechanisms and boundary conditions. I conclude by discussing theoretical implications for the debates on the quasi-internalization literature and suggesting an array of future research questions.