Promoting the global economy: The uneven development of the location consulting industry

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 1336-1354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas A. Phelps ◽  
Andrew Wood
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Uneven Development ◽  
Production Networks ◽  
Global Production Networks ◽  
Investment Projects ◽  
Interview Research ◽  
Political Economies ◽  
Consulting Industry

In this paper, we examine the location consulting industry as a set of intermediaries that promote globalization when brokering between a demand for suitable sites for direct investment projects emanating from multinational enterprises and the supply of locations produced by host country governments. We outline three themes composing a research agenda: the nature of the knowledge mobilized by these intermediaries and its implications for the organization of the industry; the role of intermediaries as a neglected aspect of coupling within global production networks, and; the globally uneven contribution of intermediaries in different national political economies. We illustrate these themes empirically drawing on original interview research with location consultants and related companies based in Europe. In conclusion, we note how these intermediaries associated with ‘old’ economic geographical knowledge nevertheless continue to evolve practice in ways that shape the global distribution of investment.

Global cities and the geographical transfer of value

Urban Studies ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christof Parnreiter
Keyword(s):  
Uneven Development ◽  
Global Cities ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Production Networks ◽  
Global Production Networks ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Producer Service ◽  
Global Commodity Chains ◽  
Central Argument

The central argument of this article is that global cities are, due to their clustering of producer service firms, critical governance nodes in global production networks. More in particular, the article scrutinises the role of producer service firms in uneven development and, especially, in the geographical transfer of value (Hadjimichalis, 1984). Because the direct as well as the indirect mechanisms through which value is transferred geographically require the intervention of producer service firms, global cities can be theorised as governance nodes for centripetal wealth transfers along global commodity chains. Moreover, and in the context of the persisting criticism that the global city concept has a bias towards Northern/Western cities, the article argues that the claim that global cities are critical places for the organisation of uneven development also holds for cities beyond ‘the usual suspects’. Referring to cases of how producer service firms in Hamburg and Mexico City erect entry barriers to protect their clients from competition and of how they shape labour relations at the expense of employees, I have maintained that governance is, as Sassen (2010: 158) has argued, indeed ‘embedded’ into the services provided. From that follows that even ‘minor’ global cities are strategic governance places from where the transfer of wealth towards the centres of the world economy is organised.

scholarly journals Filtering strategic coupling: territorial intermediaries in oil and gas global production networks in Southeast Asia

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 829-851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moritz Breul ◽  
Javier Revilla Diez ◽  
Maxensius Tri Sambodo
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Production Network ◽  
Production Networks ◽  
Global Production Networks ◽  
Global Production Network

Abstract The Global Production Network (GPN) approach has not yet considered the importance of territorial intermediaries for strategic coupling. This article demonstrates how the prospects of strategic coupling for the case of Vietnam and Indonesia with the oil and gas GPN are affected by the gateway role of Singapore. Based on interviews, the analysis reveals how Singapore influences regional economic development along the GPN through different filtering mechanisms, limiting the potential for strategic coupling for Vietnam and Indonesia. For GPN research, the identified filtering mechanisms illustrate how the territoriality of GPNs contributes to differentiated territorial outcomes. The findings therefore indicate the need to intensify the appreciation of the particular territorial configuration of GPNs as this yields considerable explanatory power for understanding the unequal contours of the global economy.

Transnational Standards and Empty Spaces

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Bartley
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Transnational Governance ◽  
Production Networks ◽  
Global Production Networks ◽  
Global Order ◽  
Private Regulation ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Making Sense

A vast new world of transnational standards has emerged, covering issues from human rights to sustainability to food safety. This chapter develops a framework for making sense of this new global order. It is tempting to imagine that global rules can and should bypass corrupt, incapacitated, or illegitimate governments in poor and middle-income countries. This assumption must be rejected if we want to understand the consequences of global rules and the prospects for improvement. After showing how a combination of social movements, global production networks, and neoliberalism gave rise to transnational private regulation, the chapter builds the foundations for the comparative approach of this book. The book’s comparative analysis of land and labor in Indonesia and China sheds light on two key fields of transnational governance, their implications in democratic and authoritarian settings, and the problems of governing the global economy through private regulation.

Forging connections: The role of ‘boundary spanners’ in globalising clusters and shaping cluster evolution

2021 ◽  
pp. 030913252110387
Author(s):  
Di Wu
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Spanning ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Boundary Spanners ◽  
Production Networks ◽  
Global Production Networks ◽  
Boundary Spanner ◽  
Evolutionary Economic ◽  
Cluster Evolution ◽  
Global Connections

Synthesising the endogenous-centred evolutionary economic geography perspective, and the globally oriented ‘global pipelines’ and global production networks frameworks, this article develops the ‘boundary spanner’ concept to propose a theoretical framework to illustrate how resourceful actors, as boundary spanners, globalise clusters and in turn drive cluster evolution. This framework comprises four interrelated cluster boundary-spanning functions, namely, discursive construction, innovation promotion, production coordination and market reach. This article aims to advance the cluster literature by unpacking how clusters’ global connections are constructed and maintained, conceptualising the multidimensional role of the agency of boundary spanners and demonstrating boundary spanners’ contributions to cluster evolution.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Standards

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Production Networks ◽  
Global Production Networks ◽  
Private Regulation ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Political Economic

This chapter charts the contribution of economic geography to the field of research concerned with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and standards. Following explanation of the historical and political–economic context of CSR and the rise of codes and standards as tools in the private regulation of the global economy, it places the critical spotlight on studies of ethical and labour standards in global supply chains. Within this area, the different critical insights into CSR and standards offered by the global value chains and global production networks frameworks, as well as postcolonial critique, theories of governmentality, and sociologies of standards and marketization, are summarized and debated. Finally, the chapter discusses some of the recent economic, geographical, and regulatory challenges to the ways in which CSR and standards are operating and transforming in practice, from the global economic downturn to the influence of ‘rising powers’ and emerging economies.

scholarly journals Crossvergence of socially (ir)responsible employment practices in supplier firms

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Britta Holzberg
Keyword(s):  
Decent Work ◽  
Production Networks ◽  
Global Production Networks ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Employment Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Conflicting Demands ◽  
Local Pressures ◽  
Global And Local

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the notion of crossvergence from international human resource management (IHRM) as a conceptual lens for understanding and analyzing the formation of socially (ir)responsible employment practices in supplier firms in global production networks (GPNs). The crossvergence perspective can particularly contribute to understanding how the agency of suppliers is influenced by the interaction of global–local dynamics. Design/methodology/approach The paper illustrates how the formation of socially (ir)responsible employment practices can be understood as a process of crossvergence. Subsequently, it reviews and structures insights from GPN and IHRM literature to detail the process. Findings The paper underscores the complicated role of suppliers in ensuring decent work in GPNs. Suppliers face a multitude of global and local interacting, and partially conflicting, demands. They process these demands as active agents and need to develop suitable employment practices in response. Originality/value The paper supports the nascent discourse on supplier agency in forming socially responsible employment practices. It connects different streams of literature to illuminate the perspective of suppliers, introduces IHRM insights to the debate and offers conceptual guidance for analyzing interacting global and local pressures on suppliers.

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