Short Abstract:

Drawing on longitudinal studies and experiments, particularly in the Northwestern-Himalayas region, the paper establishes a link between innovation, commitment, and capabilities within value chains. It underscores the importance of fostering innovation and commitment to innovation to strengthen value chains and mitigate the effects of crises.

Long Abstract:

In today's globalized era, we've become interconnected nodes of value webs within a vast network of value chains. Food cultivated in one corner of the globe finds its way to tables in distant lands. Climate fluctuations triggered by various factors worldwide have far-reaching impacts. Conflicts between nations can disrupt shipping lanes that span the entire planet. Semiconductor manufacturing in one nation ripples through the automotive sector across continents. The intricate web linking disparate regions is undeniable, firmly established, and widely recognized.

Based on longitudinal observations and analyses conducted by the authors across various research studies (including contributions to preceding HDCA conferences), this paper offers a comprehensive overview of diverse forms of crises. It examines these crises from multiple perspectives, including their policy implications, effects, socioeconomic repercussions in the aftermath, longitudinal impacts on affected populations, and differential effects on various income groups with distinct opportunities and capabilities (Nussbaum & Sen, 1993; Alkire, 2005; Robeyns, 2006).

While conducting these experiments and corroborating the findings with existing literature, it became evident that there is a notable absence of discussion on a crucial element and link that is essential for aiding communities and societies in navigating through turbulent times. The discovered connection between innovation, commitment, capabilities, and value chains, as revealed through the experiments, holds significant promise for addressing crises. Recognizing this as a research gap, the paper outlines the following research questions:

RQ1: How innovation is improving capabilities of value chain partners in times of crisis?

RQ2: What are the forms of commitment for driving innovation?

This paper seeks to contribute to the capability approach literature by highlighting how a commitment to innovation within value chains enhances the capabilities of the partners involved. While existing literature extensively discusses the connection between innovation and crises, and the role of innovation in aiding individuals, businesses, and societies during turbulent times, this paper expands upon this discourse by underscoring the significance of innovation in enhancing the capabilities of value chain partners and the importance of commitment in driving these innovations forward. Drawing on self-conducted experiments in the Northwestern-Himalayas (Sengar et al., 2020; Sengar et al., 2022; Dwivedi et al., 2022), this paper establishes the correlation between innovation, commitment, capabilities, and value chains.

The picture this paper extends is a part of several solutions which have been worked upon by the authors and their associated researchers identifying the problems associated with different crises as well as presenting the solutions to such problems. This process of identification of problems and finding solutions has been longitudinal in nature and several experiments have been conducted. These experiments involved socio-cultural-economic understanding of the people concerned along with the requirement of infusion of technology and technological interventions. Quite a few of these experiments have been set in physical form and commercial and economic viability of these experiments along with the positive effect they have brought in has been recorded and has become a part of the reports which are now being implemented by the government agencies at a larger level.

All the experiments, the associated learning and the relationship of all the learning with different kinds of crises observed and faced benchmarked against the philosophy of ‘capability’ and ‘capability approach’ contributed in developing an understanding that if there is commitment towards innovation and developing the capabilities of the entire value chains then a concentricity (Ryman & Roach, 2016) associated with specific parts of the value chain with respect to initiating innovation evolves, which may traverse throughout and strengthen every member with capability development in due course of process which may also develop an immunity for crises as and when they come.