Research Programm
Our Approach
The HWR Research Competence Centre: Challenges and Resilience of Global Supply and Value Chains was created to research various dimensions of global supply and value chains. We pool the existing competences of the Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR) in the field of global supply and value chains (GSVCs), develop them further and network them with other research areas. Researchers from the fields of business administration, political science, economics, sociology, security management, law and criminology are involved in this interdisciplinary project. The research programme will be funded by the German Research Foundation until at least 2029.
Crises such as climate change, armed conflicts and pandemics pose increasing challenges for production networks. Accordingly, the aim of the competence centre is the scientific development of new theories, models and methodological approaches in the field of resilience of GSVCs and their possible operationalisation for policymakers, companies, universities and international organisations.
We scientifically analyse different dimensions of resilience of GSVCs, the influence of crises on these dimensions, future options for building resilience, and requirements for transformation. In order to exploit synergies, the competence centre is divided into four thematic clusters grouped around a central cluster. While the central cluster A deals with interdisciplinary contexts and overarching issues, the thematic clusters B-E conduct knowledge-driven research and are not only connected via the central cluster, but also through direct exchange, joint research and common methodological approaches.
The Clusters at a Glance
Cluster A: Organisation und Inter-disciplinary Dialog
Cluster B: The Relationship of Value Chain Reconfiguration with Interdependent Growth Regimes and Effects on Economic and Social Resilience
Cluster C: The Resilience of Legal and Illegal Global Value and Supply Chains in the Context of Security, Contestation, Accountability and the Rule of Law
Cluster D: Supply Chain Viability: Effectiveness, Costs to Business and Societal Value
Cluster E: Sustainability Evaluation of GSVCs – From Climate Related Indicators to an Integrated Criteria Set
Research Questions
- Dimensions of resilience
What dimensions of resilience (economic, financial, social, environmental) can be identified in the context of global supply and value chains, and how are they linked? - Impact of global crises
How have recent global crises (such as the global financial crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and geopolitical tensions) affected the resilience of global supply and value chains, and what are the interactions between the different aspects of resilience? - Actors and their influences
What is the role of different groups of actors – such as international and supranational institutions, national governments, interest groups, businesses and consumers – in shaping economic, financial, social and environmental resilience? How do these actors interact at micro, meso and macro levels? - Future perspectives
What are the prospects and requirements for the resilience of global supply and value chains in the face of post-pandemic global tensions and the need for socio-ecological transformations?