Cross-border non-equity modes (NEMs) of international production generated at least $2 trillion in sales globally in 2010 and are growing rapidly, shaping world trade and investment patterns, with important implications for development...
...international production is not exclusively about foreign direct investment (FDI) on the one hand and trade on the other. NEMs - which include contract manufacturing, services outsourcing, contract farming, franchising, licensing, and management contracts - allow transnational corporations to coordinate activities in their global value chains and influence the management of host-country firms without owning equity stakes in those firms. Transnational corporations manage the activities of NEM partner firms in their global value chains - for example, a local company in a host country assembling a product or providing information technology (IT) support - through contracts or, equally important, through access to transnational corporations´ technology, skills, business models or internal markets. Transnational corporations seldom take equity stakes in NEM partner firms, although the partner firms are tied to the transnational corporations´ global networks.
...UNCTAD...cites concerns about the impact of NEMs in host developing economies. For example, working conditions may be poor, particularly in the case of contract manufacturing in labour-intensive activities, since NEM partner firms are under strong competitive pressure to reduce costs. In some instances, NEMs can be used to circumvent social and environmental standards. The report also points to pitfalls for long-term industrial development: Developing countries need to mitigate the risk of remaining locked into low value-added activities and need to avoid overdependence on foreign technologies and inputs.