Sustaining Innovation through Joining Global Supply Chain Networks: The Case of Manufacturing Firms in Thailand

Joining global supply chain networks helps firms to enhance innovation performance as firms need to satisfy various standard requirements from overseas customers. From the global value chain theory, there is no evidence on what types of supply chain ownership structures help firms to achieve more innovation. This deficiency led us to investigate types of supply chain ownership structures, i.e., Pure Domestic Chain, Pure Joint Venture (JV) Chain, Pure Multinational Corporation (MNC) Chain, Export Chain, and Import Chain, that can help firms to achieve more innovation. One-way ANOVA is used to analyze 856 responses collected from the Thai manufacturing industry during 2012-2017. The results indicate that firms in the Pure MNC Chain have the highest levels of product and process innovation. There is less innovation for the Pure JV Chain, Export Chain, Import Chain, and Pure Domestic Chain, in decreasing order. This means that firms in global supply chain networks tend to have better innovation performance than firms in local supply chain networks. The innovation capabilities of local firms can be enhanced through knowledge transfer and knowledge co-creation by joining global supply chain networks.