ABSTRACT
Purpose - study aims to investigate the relationships between global value chain (GVC)-and transportation-related determinants and economic performance. Also, moderating effects of COVID-19 on the relationships are theoretically and empirically discussed. A limitation of previous studies includes their over-reliance on the opportunities of GVC participation and larger transportation. This study represents the challenges associated with them. Also, it shows how GVC and logistics can be difficult in case of a market fluctuation such as COVID-19.Design/methodology - The sample for this study includes 828 observations from 138 countries. A semi-panel data set has been used. Six observations for each country are used to empirically test the hypotheses and a Two-way cluster model is conducted.Findings - It is confirmed that GVC forward participation contributes more than the backward participation to enhance performance. Transportation infrastructure is critical, but large scales of marine and air transportations are not positive in terms of economic performance. Stricter government response to COVID-19 negatively moderates economic performance by GVC backward participation and transportation infrastructure.Originality/value - The spread of COVID-19 is causing a severe collapse of GVC and transportation. This study empirically verifies the moderating effects of the government stringency on GVC and transportation. Previous studies usually discuss a positive impact of GVC and transportation size on economic performance. However, this study aims to show various challenges behind GVC participation and large scale transportation.