A Qualitative Analysis of Transparency and Governance in Open Supply Hub and Bangladesh Ready-Made Garment Industry Data
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Open Supply Hub (OSH) has become a significant digital transparency solution in global value chain, especially in labour-intensive industries like in the ready-made garment industry. In Bangladesh, labour issues, compliance and industrial safety have resulted in heightened significance of transparency and availability of structured supply chain intelligence. It is on this context that the digital platforms like OSH have gained more prominence in enhancing visibility and coordination of supply chain actors. This thesis considers the operationalisation of supply chain transparency via Open Supply Hub and the connections between these practices and governance and coordination in the Bangladesh RMG global value chain. The thesis takes a qualitative, document-based case study design based on Global Value Chain theory. It uses only publicly available secondary sources, such as Open Supply Hub governance documentation, technical guidelines, platform resources, case materials, and facility level data. These datasets consist of factory name, geographic location, unique OSH identifier and source of data contribution. Data sets were used for a qualitative interpretation of transparency practices. A thematic method of analysis was applied to the collected materials and essential patterns were identified in response to transparency mechanisms, standardisation of data, data verification, and stakeholder involvement. It is revealed that transparency in OSH is operationalised by a co-existence between institutional rules, technological systems and multi-stakeholder collaboration. The governance framework in the platform deter-mines the contribution, validation, and sharing of data, and technological attributes allow integrating and comparing data across different contributors. Moreover, the involvement of brands and suppliers, non-governmental organisations and industry associations helps to create and confirm shared data. These mechanisms have been applied in the context of Bangladesh to aid greater visibility of suppliers and enhanced access to organized information on production networks. GVC analysis of the results shows that transparency has an impact on governance, mainly by enhancing information flows and lessening information asymmetry. Open Supply Hub promotes coordination among the actors through more access to supply chain information and the standardization of data without fundamentally altering already existing structures of buyer-driven governance. The findings further show that there are forms of transparency that can be used to improve certain forms of supplier upgrading, particularly visibly and relationally. However, these will not be assured and will depend on the degree of participation, thoroughness of data and institutional sup-port. Overall, the study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that transparency, in its form through digital platforms, is a governance support mechanism in the global value chain. It emphasizes the use of open data systems in developing coordination, sharing of information, and interaction with stakeholders. The outcomes can also be used to guide policymakers, players in the industry and platform developers who may be keen on improving transparency and accountability in international supply chains.