Industrial Restructuring and Regional Adjustment in Asian NIEs

Kim, W B

doi:10.1068/a250027

Cited by 16 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Whilst Gereffi (1999; emphasised economic organisation, with firms as core actors, contributions to a 1998 ILO workshop (ILO, 1998) on the theme also stressed the importance of innovative policies and policy networks. Especially in the case of East and Southeast Asia, the role of governments in economic and industrial development has indeed been significant (Appelbaum & Henderson, 1992;Castells, 1992;Kim, 1993).…”

Section: Shifts In Apparel Produc-tion Network Positions: East Asian mentioning

confidence: 99%

Competitive Adjustment and Advancement in Global Commodity Chains: I. Firm Strategies and Trajectories in the East Asian Apparel Industry

Grunsven

Smakman

2001

Singap J Trop Geogr

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Globalisation discourses increasingly depart from a network-centred view of the world, and focus on the possibilities of leveraging economic globalisation -through incorporation in international production networks and global commodity chains (GCCs) -as a strategy for less developed countries (LDCs) to industrialise and advance their position in the world economy. This article goes beyond the question of incorporation and addresses the issue of sustaining positions, upgrading to more rewarding roles, and advancing to less dependent positions within production networks and GCCs. Drawing on experiences in the East Asian apparel industry, we present a framework for analysing such processes at both the firm and industry levels. We demonstrate that the East Asian experience provides a rather positive picture, despite a decline in the region's share of world trade. The present paper is a preliminary contribution; further research, using the framework presented, would enhance insights into competitive adjustment and advancement in GCCs, specifically, the forces underlying success or failure.

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Section: Shifts In Apparel Produc-tion Network Positions: East Asian mentioning

confidence: 99%

Competitive Adjustment and Advancement in Global Commodity Chains: I. Firm Strategies and Trajectories in the East Asian Apparel Industry

Grunsven

Smakman

2001

Singap J Trop Geogr

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“…Thirdly, Taiwan faced labor shortages in this period that created serious problems for the labor-intensive industries. Fourthly, the appreciation of the new Taiwan dollar against the US dollar put Taiwanese products in a disadvantageous position (Kim, 1993;Tsay, 1993). The full force of economic restructuring can be shown with reference to a number of features discussed below.…”

Section: Economic Restructuringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contesting Flexibility: The Restructuring of Taiwan’s Labor Relations and Spatial Organization

Wang

2001

Int J Urban Regional Res

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This article analyzes the transformation of labor relations in Taiwan. Employing a regulation approach to decipher the patterns of labor relations prevalent before the 1980s and the existing patterns characteristic of the 1990s, I argue that the former stage was a flexible Taylorist labor regime. This labor regime was coupled with an export-oriented economy where the flexible use of labor was necessary to keep wages at low levels and to respond quickly to the world economy. In the 1990s, however, due to the upgrading and differentiation of the economy, plus a democratic movement that nurtured the emergence of unionism, this has been transformed into a new type of flexible labor regime in which different types of labor relations coexist. Different industrial sectors in this stage tend to adopt different forms of labor regulation within which none of them occupy a dominant position. Finally, the article discusses the spatial implications of labor relations in Taiwan with regard to geographical distribution. It is argued that, while geographical location did not matter in the former stage, in the 1990s geography does matter because of the differentiation of labor relations in different industrial sectors that exhibit distinctive patterns of geographical distribution. Copyright Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2001.

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“…The focus on the Singapore apparel industry as a case study is apt not only because the industry was incorporated in global networks at an early stage and has since undergone several phases of adjustment and restructuring (see also Kim, 1993;Clark & Kim, 1995;Chiu et al, 1997), but also because Singapore's position in Southeast Asia may be seen as more or less paralleling that of Hong Kong in East Asia. Therefore, despite having been viewed as a sunset industry, its actual trajectory is likely more complex than such a label would suggest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Competitive Adjustment and Advancement in Global Commodity Chains II: The Case of the Singapore Garment Industry

Grunsven

Smakman

2002

Singap J Trop Geogr

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This is the second part of a contribution to the debate on the possibilities of leveraging economic globalisation -through incorporation in international production networks and global commodity chains (GCCs) -as a strategy for developing countries to industrialise and advance their position in the world economy. In the first part, we analysed the experience of the East Asian apparel industry and addressed the issues of sustaining positions, upgrading to more rewarding roles, and advancing to less dependent positions within production networks and GCCs. We developed an analytical framework at both the firm and industry levels, and subsequently identified alternative firm-and industry-level strategies and trajectories. The present paper deals with these issues in the context of the Singapore apparel industry. Based on extensive empirical research, we demonstrate that although the East Asian experience of upgrading and repositioning within the GCC is to some extent emulated in the case of the Singapore apparel industry, the outcomes have been less favourable in terms of the depth, extent and strength of these trajectories. The differing outcomes can be explained in terms of different (systemic) conditions in the Singapore business environment, including the agency of local players, the geography of sourcing networks, and the role of the state and prevailing business attitudes. Our conclusions merit continued attention in both research and policy circles on the development of capabilities at the firm level, and the role of local business and institutional environments in local industry development processes under globalisation.

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Industrial Restructuring and Regional Adjustment in Asian NIEs

Cited by 16 publications

References 11 publications

Competitive Adjustment and Advancement in Global Commodity Chains: I. Firm Strategies and Trajectories in the East Asian Apparel Industry

Competitive Adjustment and Advancement in Global Commodity Chains: I. Firm Strategies and Trajectories in the East Asian Apparel Industry

Contesting Flexibility: The Restructuring of Taiwan’s Labor Relations and Spatial Organization

Competitive Adjustment and Advancement in Global Commodity Chains II: The Case of the Singapore Garment Industry

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