Accessing Global Value Chains? The Role of Business–state Relations in the Private Clothing Industry in Vietnam

This article deals with the access to global markets via inclusion in global value chains for private clothing producers in Vietnam. It argues that ‘chain entry barriers’ are not only constructed by global buyers as it is often suggested, but also by political–economic processes in Vietnam. The market orientations of four segments of private enterprise owners is examined and shown to correspond to their ethnicity, origin and location in northern or southern Vietnam. It is argued that this is mostly because these factors influence access to the state system, where export-related resources are found.