Pervasive but Neglected: Conceptualising Services and Global Production Networks

Abstract Services account for a very large share of employment and economic growth across the globe. In recent years, a global shift in service delivery has occurred through the relocation, or offshoring, of ICT‐enabled service employment to countries in the Global South. Despite the pervasiveness of services in the global economy, empirical research employing the global production network (GPN) framework has not fully engaged with services and continues to be characterised by a ‘productionist bias’ (Coe and Yeung , p. 24). This article addresses the neglected function of services in GPNs and global value chain research and interrogates the potential of the globalisation of service delivery for regional economic development. Services in GPNs are conceptualised using three lenses: a services‐within‐manufacturing networks lens (seeing services as intermediaries), a dedicated services networks lens (seeing services as independent service production networks), and a local support services networks lens (focusing on the rise of local service networks in regions). This conceptualisation is explored empirically drawing on research on the information technology and business process outsourcing sector in the Philippines and India. Employing a local support services networks lens makes visible otherwise hidden territorial processes and reveals a rising local service‐sector nexus, which is relevant for understanding regional economic development implications.