The article is devoted to overview of methodological approaches to the analysis of the global value chains. Value chain is a full range of activities which is done by firm or employees in order to bring a product from its conception to its end use. This also includes activities such as design, production, marketing, distribution and support to the final consumer. Global value chains (GVC) involve different type of firm from different countries in such activities. The paper emphasizes that this research topic is interdisciplinary. Topics in GVC literature include variety of aspects: impact of globalization on employment, horizontal and vertical links between enterprises in the chain, governance structure of organizing international production networks, supply and income distribution, spread of innovation and technology, firms’ upgrading etc. Generally, A. Morrison, C. Pietrobelli and R. Rabellotti have identified two different “schools” or approaches within the broad GVC literature: the internationalist approach and the industrialist approach. Typology of global value chains is quite developed topic. Such types as market type, modular type, relational type, captive type, hierarchy type of governance have been distinguished and described by foreign researches. Elements of modernization processes of the value chain have been highlighted. Approaches to upgrading of value added production can be considered as upgrading of products (and packaging), upgrading of processes, functional upgrading, inter-sectoral upgrading. Also concept of upgrading can relate to upgrading of value chain-network structure and upgrading of governance structures. The topic of barriers for integration in global value chains for developing countries is crucial. There are several factors affecting developing country competitiveness in GVCs: productive capacity, infrastructure and service, business environment, trade and investment policy, industry institutionalization. The main conclusions emerging from analytical overview presented in this article are that various approaches to GVCs analysis exist and that the choice of particular approach should be based on specific research topic which is investigated as well as data sources (e.g. firms’ business record, input-output tables, interviews with enterprises, business association, government officers etc). 

global value chains, analytical frameworks, governance, modernization