Abstract

The traditional Supply Chain Management Theory has been around for few decades. In addition, between 1994 and 2000, another theory by the name of the ‘Global Commodity Chain’ (GCC) theory was developed by Gary Gereffi from North Carolina University (USA) which is more broader than the Supply Chain Management Theory. The aim of this paper is to revisit and critically examine Gereffi’s (1994) GCC theory and attempt to expand its analytical framework from the perspective of a small island country in the Pacific. The research findings highlight some of the limitations which GCC theory and suggest that a full understanding of global commodity chains needs to be reframed and embedded in the context of a country’s national social, economic and political environment. The paper argues that GCC theory need to incorporate variables such a as of ‘national economic policies’, ‘role of state’ and ‘labor’ in order to fully account for the complexity of modern supply chains. The paper concludes by arguing that the GCC theory is limited in explaining the true picture in developing small island countries. The paper contributes literature on GCC theory.

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