The theoretical approach

Abstract

This chapter presents the conceptual framework of the book and the theoretical approaches that inform the research in the book. The fields of study in this regard include labour economics focused on firm-level training and hiring practices, institutional analysis on comparative capitalisms and development, global value chain research on governance structures and supplier firms, human resource management studies on firm-level skilling practices, and the outcomes of these practices for workers and firms. The chapter first discusses the main arguments in each body of literature, and then offers explanations of the main bottlenecks of the literature. Later, it demonstrates how each body of literature is used in the book and how the bottlenecks are addressed. Last, the chapter explains the ‘cross-fertilisation’ and multilevel approach of the book.