Globalization, Upgrading, and Small Enterprises: A View from Central America

Abstract

This article examines the processes through which small enterprises pursuing an accumulation strategy are inserted into the global economic regime. Our focus on small enterprises in globalization has a dual objective. First, in analytic terms, it suggests that the key question to be addressed concerns the opportunities and threats that globalization produces for this type of enterprise. In this regard, the concept of upgrading proves critical to addressing this question. Second, from a methodological perspective, the approach leads us to adopt a view ‘from below’, i.e., from the position of small enterprises themselves. The analysis is intended to complement rather than to challenge the ‘top-down’ perspectives that characterize studies of globalization, and in which small enterprises tend to be rendered invisible. This study examines two empirical cases: the software sector in Costa Rica and the development of the garment industry in a cluster concentrated in an indigenous community in Guatemala.

Industrial Districts and the Collapse of the Marshallian Model: Looking at the Italian Experience

“…Our study has a more important implication for the field of research on IDs: given the changes that have taken place, to understand the competitive dynamics affecting a given ID, wherever it may be located, we need to place the analysis within the framework of the global value chain of which the district is a part. This analytical stance has often been taken to explain the upgrading processes seen in several clusters in developing countries, and Latin America in particular (Bair & Gereffi, 2001;Giuliani et al, 2005;Humphrey & Schmitz, 2002;Pérez Sáinz, 2003). The global value chain perspective has only been used quite recently to analyse the IDs of Europe, confirming its utility when it comes to understanding the competitive position of IDs and how it has changed over time (Amighini & Rabellotti, 2006;Belussi & Samarra, 2010;De Marchi et al, forthcoming;Hervás-Oliver et al, 2008).…”

Fair trade mainstreaming: an innovative response to the challenges of hegemonic neoliberalism

“…The global value chain approach predicts that the integration of quality and differentiation into the competitive strategies of lead firms has implications for how firms manage global supply chains. As described by Perez Sainz (2003), the trend towards corporate governance has been characterized by three interrelated activities:…”

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