Inter-organizational linkages, global value chains and national innovation systems: Disconnected realities in the Philippines

This chapter investigates the changes in consumption practices of employees of the business process outsourcing(BPO) industry in Mumbai. The city is an interesting place to investigate the emergence of the BPO industry and assess its contribution to the formation of a consumerist new middle class. Impressive economic growth, backed by globalization and liberalization, has given rise to a new middle class in emerging market economies such as India. Workers in the BPO industry are representatives of this newly emerging consumer class. The offshore service outsourcing industry, which comprises the BPO and information technology(IT) services, is widely acknowledged as one of the important sectors contributing to the formation of a new middle class in India. The chapter then explains the data and research methodology, and it presents the empirical findings. The empirical evidence points out that the BPO industry too plays a vital role in bringing about changes in consumption practices and contributing to the formation of a new middle class.