218 research outputs found
De-globalisation value chains and reshoring
No full textThis chapter aims to review the debate on de-globalisation and to present some preliminary evidence that reconsiders the value of a manufacturing activity in light of the current geopolitical turmoil and new technological availabilities. The outcome has been a more critical approach to globalisation as businesses have also started to weigh the costs and benefits of coordinating worldwide production processes with changing markets and emerging new technologies. The reconfiguration of global value chains is also led by geopolitical and trade forces. Reshoring has become something of a buzzword over the last few years. The American media flagged up that some large American multi-national enterprises, such as General Electrics and Caterpillar, as well as the largest US retailer Walmart, were bringing manufacturing operations or stocking back home to be able to seal production as being ‘Made in USA’
Measuring the Decline of a Marshallian Industrial District: The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter
No full textDe Propris L. and Lazzeretti L. Measuring the decline of a Marshallian industrial district: the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter, Regional Studies. This paper presents the findings of a study on the decline of a typical Marshallian industrial district: the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter in the UK. The paper contributes to the current debate on clusters' life cycle by presenting a multidisciplinary methodology that combines historical and economic analyses with demography and organizational ecology models. The paper seeks to explore the patterns of firms' birth and mortality rates, as well as firm density across branches of production activities to measure and understand the decline of the Jewellery Quarter over the last decades. [image omitted] De Propris L. et Lazzeretti L. Mesurer le declin d'un district industriel du type Marshall: le quartier de la bijouterie a Birmingham, Regional Studies. Cet article cherche a presenter les resultats provenant d'une etude au sujet du declin d'un district industriel du type Marshall: a savoir, le quartier de la bijouterie a Birmigham (R-U). L'article contribue au debat actuel sur le cycle de vie des regroupements d'entreprises, en presentant une methodologie pluridisciplinaire qui associe des analyses chronologiques et economiques aux modeles de la demographie et de l'ecologie organisationnelle. On cherche a etudier la structure des taux de naissance et de deces des entreprises, ainsi que la densite du parc d'entreprises a travers des branches d'activites de production afin de mesurer et comprendre le declin du quartier de la bijouterie pendant les decennies recentes. Districts industriels du type Marshall Cycle de vie des regroupements Theorie ecologique De Propris L. und Lazzeretti L. Messung des Niedergangs eines Marshallschen Industriedistrikts: das Juwelierviertel von Birmingham, Regional Studies. In diesem Artikel werden die Ergebnisse einer Studie uber den Niedergang eines typischen Marshallschen Industriedistrikts vorgestellt, namlich des Juwelierviertels von Birmingham (GB). Der Artikel versteht sich als Beitrag zur aktuellen Debatte uber den Lebenszyklus von Clustern; hierfur prasentieren wir eine multidisziplinare Methodologie, in der historische und okonomische Analysen mit demografischen und organisationellen Okologiemodellen kombiniert werden. Wir untersuchen die Muster der Raten von Firmengrundungen und -schliessungen sowie die Firmendichte in verschiedenen Branchen der produzierenden Industrie, um den Niedergang des Juwelierviertels in den letzten Jahrzehnten zu messen und zu verstehen. Marshallsche Industriedistrikte Lebenszyklus von Clustern Okologische Theorie De Propris L. y Lazzeretti L. Medicion del declive de un distrito industrial marshalliano: el Jewellery Quarter de Birmingham, Regional Studies. En este articulo presentamos los resultados de un estudio sobre el declive de un distrito industrial marshalliano tipico: el Jewellery Quarter (barrio de las joyas) en Birmingham (RU). Aqui contribuimos al debate actual sobre el ciclo de vida de las aglomeraciones presentando una metodologia multidisciplinaria que combina los analisis historicos y economicos con los modelos demograficos y la ecologia organizativa. Lo que pretendemos es analizar los patrones de tasas de nacimientos y mortalidad de las empresas, asi como su densidad en todos los sectores de las actividades de produccion para medir y entender el declive del Jewellery Quarter en las ultimas decadas. Distritos industriales marshallianos Ciclo de vida de aglomeracion y teoria ecologicaMarshallian industrial districts, Cluster life cycle, Ecological theory,
Mapping local production systems in the UK: Methodology and application
No full textDe Propris, L. (2005) Mapping local production systems in the UK: methodology and application, Regional Studies 39 , 197–211. The paper outlines a possible methodology to map and study local production systems. The three‐level diagnostic methodology enables researchers to map, classify and analyse in depth firms' agglomerations in regions or countries where there is little information about the presence and location of local production systems. The spatial diagnostic procedure is applied to the UK to map local production systems.Location, Industrial districts, Agglomerations, Localisation, Districts industriels, Agglomérations, Standort, Industriegebiet, Ballungen, Localización, Distritos industriales, Aglomeraciones, JEL classification: R12,
hey are industrial districts, but not as we know them! Fiorenza Belussi and Lisa De Propris
No full texteyond the lively debate on the weaknesses and decline of some Italian industrial districts, there is a documented reality of other dynamic localized industries that have not only embraced the opportunities of fast- changing markets and open production networks, but are also weathering the current economic crisis showing an enviable resilience. This chapter explores how close and how far such phenomena are from the classic Marshallian industrial districts of the Third Italy. Our analysis will draw on the literature that has looked at industrial districts as evolving, changing and adapting forms, but it goes beyond the common claim that the modern industrial districts are transforming themselves by mainly basing their competitive advantage on proximity (localized learning) and firm cooperation (trust- based organizations). Indeed, the sustained growth and related resilience of some historical Italian industrial districts is due to a combination of factors: (a) distance ‘learning’ and open models of innovation; (b) the emergence of brands and larger firms to create and control the final market; (c) the anchoring of the value creation stages to locally embedded creativity; and finally (d) the adoption of specific strategies to maintain and to regenerate the skills of the local workforce, in order to translate local firms’ research into new applications and innovations. The chapter will present a review of the current trends across ‘weak’ and ‘resilient’ industrial districts complemented by detailed case studies. New parameters to define ‘evolved and open industrial districts’ will be suggested
Perspectives on Mature Marshallian Industrial Districts
No full textIndustrial districts growing in various industrialized countries and regions after the golden age of mass production, in the second half of the twentieth century, have shown a re-emergence of forces of local development. The success stories, in particular those more peculiar and consistent as forms of industrial and social organization, like many Italian cases, have asked and favored the definition of apposite concepts and frames of interpretations. A strong basis of theoretical refinement was extracted from Alfred Marshall’s reflections on the role and working of industrial districts before the golden age of mass production. A well-known refinement is the model of the so-called Marshallian industrial district (MID). Sustained trajectories of success gravitating around the logic of such model have resulted in what may be intended as cases of typical mature industrial districts. They have been confronting since the end of the last century with the effects of a new wave of globalization challenges. It is argued in this paper that MID general structural and dynamic characters encompass a large set of empirical cases, in particular those of typical mature IDs reacting progressively, in terms of innovation and internationalization, to contemporary challenges and de-maturing. They find their way and combine old and new characters, still within the model. However, the MID’s borders may be trespassed as well, as the MID logic coalesces with other logics of industrial and social organization.Marshallian industrial districts; contemporary innovation and internationalization challenges
Technological Disruptions and Production Location Choices
No full textThe last three decades have seen an acceleration of the interconnectedness of the global economy on a number of levels: economic, productive, financial, social, and cultural. Some referred to it as a turbocharged globalisation (Friedman, The Lexus and the olive tree: Understanding globalization. New York: Random House, 2000) since, not only had it been multi-faceted, but it had moved faster than any time before. The 2008 financial crisis has somewhat pushed to the fore the undesirable implications of such global linkages, especially in advanced economies where de-industrialisation, joblessness, and imbalances in the national and regional economies were reducing the responsiveness and resilience of economic systems to face external shocks. This led to the emergence of bottom-up resentment that has shaken political establishments in both the United States and Europe; consider the election of Trump in the United States, the emergence of populist parties in Europe and Brexit. A dislike for the consequences of globalisation (generally speaking in the populist narrative) has been rendered with a political discourse around ‘re-balancing the economy’ and ‘job creation’. Protectionists and insular approaches to trade have surfaced with worrying consequences. The geography of the global economy is changing as new players and new dynamics are reshaping global markets and global production
Reshoring in the US and Europe
No full textThe reshoring phenomenon in both the European Union and the United States is a ‘hot’ topic as Industry 4.0 is shortening global value chains and new players from emerging markets are aggressively entering the global arena. Securing a strong and competitive industrial base is a focal requisite for advanced economies to remain competitive in today’s business environment. An online survey of buyers and purchasing managers from companies located in France and Western Europe. The Veneto region is located in the north-east of Italy and has for decades been the heartland of Italian manufacturing, hosting a variety of industries that emerged in the post-Second World War period; it has been part of the so-called Third Italy. There is evidence that previously offshored activities are being reshored back to Veneto. In Baden-Wurttemberg, the manufacturing industry records a higher share of value added than in any other German state
Theta-patterned tactile stimulation modifies deep cerebellar nuclei neurons responsiveness in vivo
No full textSeveral forms of synaptic plasticity have been described in the cerebellar network in vitro, but how plasticity may be induced in vivo remains poorly explored. Sensory tactile stimuli organized in theta patterns have been reported to induce long-term changes in cerebellar granule cells (Roggeri et al., 2008), Purkinje cells and molecular layer interneurons (Ramakrishnan et al., 2016) in vivo. Deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) neurons are known to respond to low frequency sensory stimulation through typical discharge patterns reflecting the inhibitory and excitatory inputs converging onto these nuclei, provided by Purkinje cells and mossy fibers respectively (Rowland and Jaeger, 2008). Nevertheless, whether and how DCN are able to modify their discharges following theta-patterned sensory stimulation remains unexplored. Herein, we addressed this issue performing single-unit recordings in vivo, from the medial nucleus of anesthetized mice. Our results provide the first evidence that DCN neurons are indeed able to modify their discharge properties following sensory stimulation in vivo, completing the picture of the theta sensory stimulation (TSS) impact on cerebellar neurons discharge in viv
A Bottom-up Approach to Manufacturing Reshoring Strategies: A Comparative Study
No full textAs a new decade starts, it might be timely to pause and reflect on how past trends and events are deciding the present and will shape the future business environment and strategies. Since the watershed moment of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, the global economy has faced as many challenges as opportunities: a more critical attitude towards globalisation; a renewed focus on the sources of productivity; a stronger commitment to manufacturing and entrepreneurship; a greater priority on technological exploration and adoption; and a tentative move towards greening the economy and society. In this tumultuous environment, firms have had to find new partners, to reassess their market position, to revise their location strategies and to reorganize their Global Value Chains (GVCs)Part of this GVCs reorganization towards shorter and closer value chains is referred to as 'manufacturing reshoring’ and it describes firms’ decision to swap oversees production for domestic production (either via domestic investment or by choosing domestic suppliers). The topic of “reshoring” has attracted the interest of many scholars from different disciplines such as Supply Chain Management, International Business (IB) and Economic Geography (EG). Drawing upon the open dialogue between scholar in the IB and EG, this paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach by leveraging the bottom-up logic intrinsic to the GVCs literatures. The bottom-up approach has been extensively applied to study territorial upgrading in least developed host economies, but only very recently, it has been used to understand firms’ location choices in advanced economies.In this work, we focus on firms’ reshoring strategies at the sub-national level assuming that firms are place-aware when they consider location choices aligned with reshoring, to the extent that they weight Knowledge-, Industry 4.0-, and Suppliers Network seeking factors.From the literature review, we aim to address two new research questions:1. Which factors influence a manufacturing reshoring strategy at a sub-national (i.e. regional) level?2. To what extent manufacturing reshoring strategies have brought value-added in the sub-national region?To answer these research questions, a comparative cross-country analysis is carried out across three different regions: the Midlands (in the United Kingdom), Veneto (in Italy), and California (in the United States). Methodologically, we use primary data collected with a web-based survey between April 2018 and March 2019. We obtained 276 usable responses across the three regions. We adopt a Multinomial Logit Model (MLM) to examine the choice of manufacturing reshoring strategies such as (i) in-house reshoring, (ii) domestic reshoring, (iii) in-house & domestic reshoring, (iv) no reshoring across our three regions.Our findings show the following: first, Industry 4.0 seeking factors influence the adoption of in-house & domestic reshoring, confirming that manufacturing reshoring brings value-added to the region; second, firms are shortening their VC to create more value-added in the domestic manufacturing activity. Finally, firms in the Midlands and California are found to be better positioned to adopt a reshoring strategy that leverages Industry 4.0 factors than firms in Veneto
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