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Lind­say Whit­field

Professor

Subjects
Innovation Value chain Geopolitics Green transition Africa Asia Europe

Primary research areas

How firms learn
Un­der­stand­ing how firms build tech­no­lo­gic­al and or­gan­iz­a­tion­al cap­ab­il­it­ies
Tech­no­lo­gic­al catch-up
In­vest­ig­at­ing how firms and gov­ern­ments catch-up to the tech­no­lo­gic­al fron­ti­er in stra­tegic in­dus­tries
In­dus­tri­al policy and geoe­co­nom­ics
Tech­no­lo­gic­al lead­er­ship re­quires stra­tegic state vis­ion and mar­ket in­ter­ven­tions in col­lab­or­a­tion with in­nov­at­ing firms
Cre­at­ing and cap­tur­ing value
Ex­plain­ing how value is cre­ated and cap­tured in glob­al in­dus­tries from glob­al South work­ers to share­hold­ers on multi-na­tion­al cor­por­a­tions
Elec­tric vehicles and geo­pol­it­ics
De­car­bon­isa­tion cre­ates win­dows of op­por­tun­it­ies for new firms and coun­tries to chal­lenge tech­no­lo­gic­al lead­ers, dis­rupt­ing tra­di­tion­al in­dus­tries
Scal­ing green tech­no­lo­gies
The green trans­ition re­quires build­ing the man­u­fac­tur­ing cap­ab­il­it­ies and mar­kets re­quired to scale new tech­no­lo­gies through busi­ness-state col­lab­or­a­tions

Un­der­stand­ing Eco­nom­ic De­vel­op­ment: why coun­tries catch up, forge ahead, or fall be­hind

I am a political economist who studies economic development as a non-teleological process that affects all countries in an ever-changing global economy.  

My work reveals how governments use industrial policies to build industries, how firms strategize to achieve or maintain international competitiveness, and how these actions of states and firms reconfigure the geography and distribution of profits in global industries. 

I have carried out research on the global apparel, semiconductor and automobile industries, combining a deep understanding of the histories of the industries and technological changes with fieldwork across a number of countries in Europe, Asia and Africa to understand contemporary dynamics. 

My research shows how technological leadership among countries changes through the concerted actions of state and firms that build and shape markets. These insights are relevant for understanding how to achieve a global green shift away from economies based on fossil fuels.  

As a teacher and mentor, I value the importance of a liberal education that teaches students multiple disciplines, the importance of history, and how to think for themselves. I strive to help students develop knowledge that is broad and deep. Above all, I hope to teach students the importance of reading, something that they can carry with them through life. 

Publications

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September 2025

Supplier Firm Value Capture Trajectories in Global Value Chains

Which Complementary Assets Matter?

Felix Maile

Lindsay Whit­fi­eld, Professor

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September 2025

Rethinking Economic Upgrading in Apparel GVCs

Value Capture Through Strategic Partnership in Product Innovation Cycles

Felix Maile

Lindsay Whit­fi­eld, Professor

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July 2025

Why Do Labor Regimes Change?

Worker Power, the Supplier Squeeze, and Structural Transformation in the Global Apparel Industry

Kristoffer Marslev

Lindsay Whit­fi­eld, Professor

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Recent research projects

Cre­at­ing and Cap­tur­ing Value in the Glob­al Ap­par­el In­dustry

The Cre­at­ing & Cap­tur­ing Value re­search pro­ject iden­ti­fies and ex­plains the dis­tri­bu­tion­al out­comes in ap­par­el glob­al sup­ply chains among large ap­par­el brands and re­tail­ers, their share­hold­ers, their sup­pli­er firms across Asia and Africa, and the work­ers em­ployed in these sup­pli­er firms. The pro­ject aims to re­think how sup­pli­er up­grad­ing oc­curs in the glob­al ap­par­el in­dustry and thus what de­term­ines how value is dis­trib­uted among buy­ers and their sup­pli­ers. It also seeks to ex­plain the main de­term­in­ants of wages and work­ing con­di­tions in ap­par­el sup­pli­er coun­tries, show­ing that na­tion­al level factors play just as im­port­ant a role as glob­al sup­ply chain dy­nam­ics.
Go to the project website

Cir­cu­lar Eco­nomy and Sus­tain­able De­vel­op­ment in the Banglade­shi Gar­ment In­dustry

The glob­al fash­ion in­dustry must move from the lin­ear take-make-waste sys­tem to a cir­cu­lar sys­tem, be­cause mak­ing more clothes us­ing vir­gin re­sources will not keep us with­in plan­et­ary bound­ar­ies of wa­ter use, CO2 emis­sions, use of chem­ic­als and gen­er­a­tion and dis­pos­al of waste. CRE­ATE ex­am­ines the cir­cu­lar­ity shift in ap­par­el glob­al value chains and the chal­lenges and op­por­tun­it­ies it presents to Bangladesh’s ap­par­el ex­port in­dustry.
Go to the project website

Elec­tric Vehicle Bat­tery Sup­ply Chain in Europe

As the glob­al trans­ition to elec­tric vehicles un­folds, Chinese EV and bat­tery cell pro­du­cers are chal­len­ging European auto­makers on their home turf: European mar­kets. European auto­makers and sup­pli­ers lack cap­ab­il­it­ies in EV bat­tery man­u­fac­tur­ing, and European coun­tries lack the en­tire EV sup­ply chain. This re­search ex­am­ines how East Asi­an firms are in­vest­ing in East­ern Europe to sup­ply the European mar­ket, the gov­ern­ment policies driv­ing them, and the re­sponses of European auto­makers and poli­cy­makers in the European Uni­on.