The effects of interfirm governance on industrial manufacturing and innovation in Europe are under-researched. Against this background, this thesis builds on the global value chain (GVC) framework and explores rare earth elements (REE) from a European industrial perspective to provide an understanding of the specific industrial peculiarities and to inform on prevailing, dynamic forms of interfirm governance.
First, the GVC is mapped. Second, the filaments of rare earth-based phosphor powders for energy-efficient lamps and adjacent segments for recycling, and of rare-earth based magnets are investigated. Third, the REE-product potential from Southern Greenlandic rare earth-bearing deposits is compared with the potential from REE-bearing mineral occurrences of similarly advanced projects in Australia, Canada and South Africa.

Findings unfold a highly complex industry with segment-specific particularities, and diverse interests of individual decision-makers in the firms involved in the GVC from mineral exploration to product component manufacturing and recycling. The thesis concludes that choices determine what is valued and information is used strategically to maintain and strengthen the value chain positioning of the investigated firms.