Reshaping Industrial Value Chains in an Era of Technological Change
The second issue of the Journal of Business Chemistry of 2026 brings together three contributions that address different industrial contexts and analytical perspectives, while sharing a common underlying theme: the restructuring of industrial value creation under conditions of technological change, strategic realignment, and evolving sustainability efforts. Across specialty chemicals, adhesive applications, and advanced battery supply systems, the contributions in this issue collectively highlight how modern industrial systems are increasingly shaped by platform-based architectures, supply chain design choices, and shifting employment and innovation dynamics. Rather than following linear production logics, value creation emerges within interconnected systems in which technology, organization, and geography jointly determine competitive advantage and structural outcomes.
The first contribution by Heiko Brunner, “Platform Strategies in Specialty Chemicals: From Value Chain Design to Value-Based Pricing and Intellectual Property”, featured in the Practitioner’s Section, examines how platform strategies shape value creation in specialty chemicals. It shows how platform architectures influence value chain design, enable proprietary additive development, and support value-based pricing. Based on long-term revenue data (2013–2022), the paper reports strong growth for products with internally developed additives and highlights 11 patents as evidence of increased appropriability and competitive advantage.
The second contribution by Georgios Giotis, “The Sticky Truth: Analyzing the Employment Impacts of the Adhesive Industry”, develops an integrative framework to assess employment effects in the adhesive sector. Combining multiple economic theories, it examines direct, indirect, and induced employment and discusses how automation and sustainability transitions are reshaping skills and occupational structures. The paper positions the sector within broader industrial and labor market dynamics and outlines implications for workforce development.
The third paper by Jesper Frost Thomsen and Simon Lux, “A Transport Perspective on Designing European Battery Supply Chains: The PowerCo Case”, analyzes battery supply chain design from a transport economics perspective. Using PowerCo as a case study, it evaluates alternative logistics scenarios in terms of cost and emissions and compares supply options for Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg plant.
Collectively, the three papers in this issue reflect a shared analytical concern with how industrial systems evolve under the pressure of technological innovation, strategic restructuring, and sustainability imperatives. Whether through platform-based value creation in specialty chemicals, employment dynamics in adhesive applications, or transport-optimized supply chain design in battery manufacturing, each contribution sheds light on different dimensions of a broader structural transformation currently reshaping industrial economies in Europe and beyond.
We hope you enjoy reading this issue of the Journal of Business Chemistry. Should you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at contact@businesschemistry.org. For ongoing updates and insights, we invite you to follow us on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/jobc) and subscribe to our newsletter. We sincerely thank all authors, reviewers and readers for their continued support and engagement.
Warm regards,
Friederike Fontes
(Executive Editor)
Sabrina Duswald
(Executive Editor)