2025 Volume 28 Pages 11-22
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the perspectives that multinational enterprises should consider when considering optimal relocation destinations with a focus on cooperative and mutually beneficial relationships in the context of the Thailand plus one strategy. In Thailand plus one strategy, although the value chain between companies in recent years has been conducted at arm’s length, it has been replaced by an interdependent and collaborative relationship rather than an adversarial relationship. In order to enhance one’s competitive advantage, the concept of value chains is necessary, and by considering global value chains as “relationship networks” in social, institutional, and organizational contexts, value is shared among the multiple actors that form them, and it is important to realize shared value. The development of regional value chains in the Mekong region needs to be considered not only in terms of zero-sum competitive relationships and master-servant relationships but also by adding a cooperative dimension (Fujioka, 2021). In this paper, we reexamined global value chains by using embeddedness as a central concept. Embeddedness is the idea that “economic activities and economic systems are embedded in social relationships and environments” (Iriyama, 2019), and we have adopted it as a central concept because we believe it brings a new perspective to existing research when considering the cooperative and mutually beneficial relationships of Thailand plus one strategy. In this paper, we conducted a systematic review of previous research, extracted important elements, and inductively organized and classified the perspectives that multinational companies should take into account when considering the optimal relocation destination. Through this paper, we aim to contribute to the theorization process while making academic and practical contributions to Thailand plus one strategy.
