Validating scales for economic upgrading in global value chains and assessing the impact of upgrading on supplier firms’ performance

Using a sample of 350 top management team (e.g., CEOs) from Bangladesh apparel industry sector who are integrated with the global value chains (GVCs) of Western multinationals, this paper validates measurement scales for economic upgrading and examines its impact on overall firm performance. We have employed structural equation modelling technique to validate the measures for the four economic upgrading constructs. The resulting measures have demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity.