Subcontracting Networks in Industrial Districts: The Electronics Industries of Madrid

Abstract

RAMA R., FERGUSON D. and MELERO A. (2003) Subcontracting networks in industrial districts: the electronics industries of Madrid , Reg. Studies 37 , 71- 88. With the recent introduction of industrial district typologies, the definition of "industrial district' has been extended beyond the classical "flexibly specialized' districts popularized in Italian case studies to include "hub- and-spoke' districts, technology districts and others. Few studies compare lesser known or emerging districts to these models. One difficult issue in the comparison of industrial districts has involved the insufficient identification and inconsistent measurement of interfirm connectedness and "networks'. In this paper, we propose that production subcontracting is a consistent yet relatively unexplored empirical measure of intradistrict connectedness, and that it varies uniformly in its nature and scope across district types. We present a model relating different types of industrial districts to particular subcontracting patterns on the basis of the overall incidence of subcontracting, its directionality, the durability of relationships, producers' motivations for externalizing production, and other producer characteristics. We then apply our model in assessing the subcontracting patterns we found among a sample of Madrid electronics producers, which we conclude comprise an emerging high-technology district. RAMA R., FERGUSON D. et MELERO A. (2003). Les réseaux de sous- traitants dans les districts industriels: l'électronique à Madrid, Reg. Studies 37 , 71-88. Avec l'introduction récente des typologies des districts industriels, la notion de "district industriel' va au- delà des districts classiques, à savoir spécialisés de façon souple et vulgarisés dans les études de cas italiens pour comprendre, parmi d'autres, des districts "rayonnants' et des technopoles. Rares sont les études qui comparent des districts moins connus ou naissants à ces modèles. Dans la comparaison des districts industriels, une question importante à aborder a été la faible identification et la mesure peu méthodique de la connectivité interentreprise et des "réseaux'. Cet article cherche à avancer la notion que sous-traiter la production constitue une mesure empirique systématique, pourtant relativement inexplorée, de la connectivité des districts, et qu'elle varie de façon uniforme quant à sa nature et à sa portée à travers une typologie de districts. On présente un modèle qui cherche à établir un rapport entre une typologie de districts industriels et des modes de sous-traitance particuliers sur la base de la tendance générale à la sous-traitance, à son orientation, à la solidité des rapports, à la motivation des producteurs quant à l'externalisation de la production, et à d'autres caractéristiques des producteurs. Il s'ensuit une application du modèle afin d'évaluer les modes de sous-traitance qui proviennent d'un échantillon de producteurs dans l'électronique à Madrid, qui représente une technopole naissante. RAMA R., FERGUSON D. und MELERO A. (2003) Weiterverge...

Just-in-Time Manufacturing Systems, Subcontracting and Geographic Proximity

“…The pattern is very similar to that reported in López (2001), Rama et al (2003) and Holl and Rama (2009) for subcontracting among electronic firms in Spain, and confirms that important intra-regional linkages exist. Table 2 shows a strong relation between local subcontracting and JIT manufacturing.…”

Science Parks and the Co-location of High-tech Small- and Medium-sized Firms in China’s Shenzhen

“…A key strategy implemented was to build SPs to promote high-tech clusters and growth. The first science park in China, the 'Shenzhen science park' (Shenzhen Keji Yuan), known as Shenzhen High-tech Industrial Park (SHIP) today, was established in 1985 (Rama et al, 2003), followed by a soaring number of other types of high-tech parks and IPs. By 2007, there were 52 parks in Shenzhen, including one national-level (SHIP), 16 municipal-level SPs and 35 local-level IPs (see Figure 1).…”

“…A distinction, however, should be made between large firms and SMEs. A large firm, often the leading firm in a sector, is very likely to use up-to-date technology relevant to this sector and there is a high chance of knowledge diffusion in its geographical proximity through formal (for example, sub-contracting, spinoffs) or informal linkages (Sternberg and Tamásy, 1999;Rama et al, 2003). By contrast, regular SMEs share similar material inputs with high-tech SMEs and often use conventional technologies in the production process; they may compete with and even become high-tech SMEs if they upgrade their technology level in the development process.…”

Production subcontracting and location

“…SuarezVilla and Rama (1996) and Rama et al (2003) in their analysis of the electronics industry in Madrid provide good examples of how clustering of firms facilitates subcontracting.…”