Path creation, global production networks and regional development: A comparative international analysis of the offshore wind sector

The recent literature concerning globalizing regional development has placed significant emphasis on the Global Production Network (GPN 2.0). GPN 2.0 in economic geography emphasizes that regional growth is caused by a shift in the strategic coupling mode from a low to high level. In addition, GPN 2.0 regards firm-level value capture trajectories as key analytical object, rather than the interactive relationships among scalar and divergent actors in GPN 1.0. To provide a better understanding of causal linkages between the GPNs and uneven regional development in the background of globalization and to test the applicability of GPN 2.0 analysis framework, the paper analyzed 62 Korean-invested automotive firms in Jiangsu Province, China. In order to explore the value capture trajectories of lead firms in the GPNs, the authors applied K-means clustering method to quantitatively analyze the local supply networks of lead firms from organizational and spatial dimensions. Then, comparisons were made between strategic coupling modes of GPNs and regional development in North and South Jiangsu. This study found obvious similarities within these two regions but obvious differences between them in terms of value capture trajectories. We observed that North Jiangsu is currently in the stage of “structural coupling”, whereas South Jiangsu is in the stage of “functional coupling.” Thus, this article argues that spatial settings such as regional assets and autonomy are key factors influencing uneven economic development. This research may provide a crucial reference for the regional development of Jiangsu, China.

Download Full-text

Global Production Networks and (Distributional) Regional Development: The Cinnamon Industry in Karandeniya and Matale, Sri Lanka

Journal of South Asian Development ◽

10.1177/0973174120956496 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 209-237

Author(s):

Eunyeong Song ◽

Douglas R. Gress ◽

Edo Andriesse

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Regional Development ◽

Structural Changes ◽

Value Added ◽

Production Network ◽

Production Networks ◽

Global Production Networks ◽

Exporting Firms ◽

Global Production Network ◽

Developmental Dynamics

The purpose of this article is to examine the multi-spatial and developmental dynamics of the cinnamon industry in Sri Lanka, the largest exporter in the world by value added. This contribution compares Karandeniya, a major traditional cultivating hub, and Matale, a region new to cinnamon cultivation, deploying a Global Production Network (GPN) framework inclusive of regional development considerations. Analyses, based on input from 23 semi-structured, in-depth interviews, examine the potential for all stakeholders to acquire equity or ‘how’ captured value influences the region ‘and’ individual actors over the course of development. Fieldwork reveals four upstream actors in the cinnamon industry, namely—farmers, peelers, collectors and exporting firms. Results indicate that the cinnamon boom led to strategic decoupling with the exporting firms in Colombo and subsequent strategic recoupling with other actors. The primary contribution of the research rests in the interpretation of resulting structural changes in each region from a bifurcated view of regional development. Based on regional economic growth, Karandeniya appears to be more successful. However, considering the extent of value distribution within the region, Matale is on a more inclusive trajectory vis-à-vis cinnamon exports. Based on these results, three implications for GPN theory and related development policy are suggested.

Download Full-text

Creating strategic couplings in global production networks: regional institutions and lead firm investment in the Humber region, UK

Journal of Economic Geography ◽

10.1093/jeg/lbz004 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 853-872 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Stuart Dawley ◽

Danny MacKinnon ◽

Robert Pollock

Keyword(s):

Offshore Wind ◽

Offshore Wind Turbine ◽

Production Networks ◽

Global Production Networks ◽

Regional Institutions ◽

Political Environments ◽

Firm Investments ◽

Adaptive Coupling ◽

Lead Firm

Abstract This article aims to unpack and analyse the institutional and political dynamics of strategic coupling from a host region perspective, adopting an actor-centred approach that focuses on regional institutions’ efforts to attract and embed lead firm investments within global production networks. We are particularly concerned with understanding the strategic agency and shifting coalitions of actors that create couplings and shape their evolution over time. This involves opening up the institutional underpinnings of strategic couplings by focusing more specifically on the key episodes in their creation and the organisation of the temporary coalitions that do the work of creating couplings. This approach is operationalised through a case study of the Siemens offshore wind turbine plant in the Humber region of England. In conclusion, we emphasise the need for regional institutions to develop adaptive coupling creation strategies that co-evolve with the reconfiguration of production networks and the reshaping of national institutional and political environments.

Download Full-text

Regional development in the global economy: A dynamic perspective of strategic coupling in global production networks

Regional Science Policy & Practice ◽

10.1111/rsp3.12055 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 1-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Henry Wai-chung Yeung

Keyword(s):

Regional Development ◽

Global Economy ◽

Production Networks ◽

Global Production Networks ◽

Dynamic Perspective

Download Full-text

From Global Production Networks to Global Reproduction Networks: Households, Migration, and Regional Development in Cavite, the Philippines

Regional Studies ◽

10.1080/00343400902777075 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 449-461 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Philip F. Kelly

Keyword(s):

Regional Development ◽

The Philippines ◽

Production Networks ◽

Global Production Networks

Download Full-text

Global production networks, regional development trajectories and smallholder livelihoods in the Global South

Journal of Economic Geography ◽

10.1093/jeg/lby065 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 973-993 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Mark Vicol ◽

Niels Fold ◽

Bill Pritchard ◽

Jeffrey Neilson

Keyword(s):

Regional Development ◽

Service Sector ◽

Production Systems ◽

Global South ◽

Production Network ◽

Production Networks ◽

Global Production Networks ◽

Value Capture ◽

East And Southeast Asia ◽

Development Trajectories

Abstract Recent advances in global production network theory, known as GPN 2.0, provide a theoretically sophisticated framework for understanding the articulation of global production systems with regional development trajectories. However, this framework was largely derived from lessons out of empirical analyses of the strategic coupling and value capture trajectories of firms in certain manufacturing and service sector ‘hot spots’, primarily in East and Southeast Asia, and its wider applicability for other contexts remains uncertain. This paper aims to address this lacuna by examining the potential for GPN 2.0 to understand regional development trajectories in agricultural production landscapes in the Global South dominated by smallholder-based farms that generate outputs for national and international markets. The distinctive characteristics of smallholders throw up significant challenges for the explanatory applicability of GPN 2.0 for rural development, at least as it has been developed so far. A key challenge is that smallholders cannot be considered equivalent to ‘firms’ as conceived in GPN 2.0. To overcome this problem, this paper argues for bringing a livelihoods perspective to bear on GPN 2.0. We illustrate the usefulness of this approach through reference to a case study of potato contract farming in Maharastra, India.

Download Full-text