A key element in conducting industrial organization research is establishing a clear, well-defined and repeatable process to identify and describe the stakeholders and concepts of the analysis across a range of industries and topics. In the global value chain (GVC) research approach, this is divided into two steps: value chain mapping (identifying who and where) and value chain analysis (what and why). This chapter focuses on mapping – the process of identifying the structural elements along the value chain, including firms, products, activities and places. It includes steps and data sources to define the scope of an industry using a combination of international standardized classification systems and insights from existing research and fieldwork. The approach is presented using an industry-neutral value chain visual template along with industry-specific examples of how the process has been applied in existing GVC studies.
