Clark G. L., Palaskas T., Tracey P. and Tsampra M. (2004) Globalization and competitive strategy in Europe's vulnerable regions: firm, industry and country effects in labour-intensive industries, Regional Studies38, 1077-1092. European integration has prompted great interest in the adjustment capacities of small and medium enterprises in regions characterized by high levels of unemployment and lower-than-average incomes. At issue, in these circumstances, is the extent to which economic competitiveness can be enhanced by technological change and the resources of European and national governments. Relying upon the results of a detailed survey of small- and medium-sized firm competitive strategies in selected vulnerable regions across Europe, the paper focuses upon firm adjustment strategies in four labour-intensive industries vulnerable to international competition. It draws together the results of these surveys providing econometric and statistical analyses that demonstrate the commonalities and differences apparent in small- and medium- sized firms' responses to changing market competition. Significant insights were gleaned from the pooling of these data. It is shown that there are statistically significant firm, country and industry effects in competitive strategies. Unlike many other related studies, the derived results are quite consistent across Europe. Furthermore, statistically significant relationships are established between changes in market sales, local employment and the adoption of process-specific technologies. The findings provide robust conclusions about the significance of country and industry determinants of European small and medium enterprises' competitive strategies in relation to the expanding European and global economy. In sum, the paper raises doubts about the value of regional development strategies that rely exclusively upon clusters and geographical embeddedness in the face of globalization.Clark G. L., Palaskas T., Tracey P. et Tsampra M. (2004) La mondialisation et la stratégie compétitive dans les régions défavorisées d'Europe: les retombées sur l'entreprise, l'industrie et le pays des industries à forte main-d'oeuvre, Regional Studies38, 1077-1092. L'intégration européenne a suscité un intérêt important à la capacité d'ajustement des petites et moyennes entreprises dans les régions qui se caractérisent par des niveaux de chômage élevés et par des niveaux de revenu qui sont inférieurs à la moyenne. Dans de telles circonstances, la question qui se pose est la suivante. Jusqu'à quel point peut-on améliorer la compétitivité économique au moyen de l'évolution technologique et à l'aide des ressources dont disposent l'administration européenne et nationale? Puisant dans les résultats provenant d'une enquête détaillée de la stratégie compétitive des PME situées dans certaines régions défavorisées à travers l'Europe, l'article porte sur les stratégies d'ajustement dans quatre industries à forte main-d'oeuvre qui sont exposées à la compétition internationale. A partir des résultats de ces enq...

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The article addresses the shifting patterns of atypical employment across the regions of Greece, severely hit by the 2009 crisis. Changes are depicted by NUTS-II level data for the pre- and post-crisis periods of 2005–2009 and 2009–2011. A regional categorization is suggested, as different forms of atypical employment, namely part-time, temporary, solo self-employment and family work, have expanded unevenly across space. The authors argue that different patterns are related to regional specialization and industrial structures differently affected by the crisis. Established forms of atypical employment have been shaken, while new highly precarious ones have been boosted. Moreover, regulatory reforms for higher labour flexibilization have also defined the emergent atypical employment patterns in Greece. The article points out that in the Greek labour market, already marked by high flexibility and poor job security and social benefits, recent regulatory reforms increasing flexibilization have deteriorated labour and devalued atypical employment.

IntroductionEuropean integration is a vital element in the competitive circumstances of firms, industries, regions, and nations. As the economic geography of whole industries has changed over the past couple of decades, so too have the relevance and utility of inherited institutions and competitive practices. It might be argued that the competitive advantage of firms has a profound long-term relationship to their local milieuö endowments and resources. It is also apparent that the competitive advantage of firms may be less profound and more contingent, being the product of their adaptive capacity and their network associations. There is a growing body of research in economics and geography that stresses the microeconomics of firm structure and their relationships as opposed to the comparative advantage of whole nations and regions (see, for example, Storper and Salais, 1997).