The Big Four
Multiple Functions and Power in Global Value Chains
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4262899 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Panagiotis Iliopoulo (0000-0003-3993-1307, Faculty of Economics and Business KU Leuven Leuven Belgium, corresponding author), Daniel Wojcik (0000-0003-2158-284X, Department of Geography National University of Singapore Singapore Singapore) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Global Networks (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1470-2266 • E-ISSN: 1471-0374 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/glob.12507 |
| OpenAlex | W4402381470 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 41 |
Many believe that the Big Four are simply global accounting firms with a large menu of additional services. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, we show that their role in the world political economy extends much beyond such description. We argue that the Big Four play a coordinating role in the organization and expansion of global value chain (GVC) in multiple territories, value-chain segments and at multiple scales. Building on the literature of the multidimensionality of power in the GVC, we investigate the multiple dimensions through which the power of the Big Four is exercised. Uncovering the power manifestations of the Big Four as global actors, the article contributes both empirically and conceptually to the dialogue among the literatures on the international political economy, critical accounting and GVC
Physics · Statistics · Asian Industrial and Economic Development · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · Innovation and Socioeconomic Development · Mathematics
How the Big 4 got big
Stylised facts and close dialogue redux
Does servicification of manufacturing increase the GVC activities of firms? Case of India
Business services and the financing of global production networks
Missing links
Power in global value chains
The political economy of International Accounting Standards
Where governance fails
Integrating Finance into Global Production Networks
Capitalist tools in socialist hands’? China Mobile in global financial networks
Explaining governance in global value chains
Global production networks and the analysis of economic development
Revolving doors in international financial governance
Power, governance and distributional skew in global value chains
Linking power and inequality in global value chains
Toward a Dynamic Theory of Global Production Networks
Power in consensus
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |