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Crouch, Colin, Carlo Trigilia, Patrick Le Galès, and Helmut Voelzkov. Local Production Systems in Europe: Rise or Demise? Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
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Оглавление
Аннотация
Рецензии
Текст
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This is the first book to represent a systematic analysis of specialised clusters
of small manufacturing enterprises in the main Europeans economies. Combining knowledge
from case-study literature with original analyses of statistical dates enables the
authors to present full accounts of the role of these clusters in Britain, France,
Germany and Italy, showing the considerable diversity of forms they take.
Local production systems (as these clusters are termed,) are seen to exist where
there are either particular competitive advantages for participation by clusters
of small and medium-sized, as opposed to large, firms, or where such clusters at
least stand as good a chance as large firms. Small firms may work through a diversity
of forms and governance: certain forms of market; cooperation among themselves; through
association; with larger firms located in the same area; or by making use of local
facilities provided by governmental or other external agencies-or a combination of
all five.
The introduction shows how previous literature has been divided into two stands.
First came optimistic, mainly 1980s, writing, which assume that the search of flexibility
and quality, typical of post-Fordist models of economic organization, would enhance
the role of SMEs. In the ensuing decade, a more pessimistic analysis was put forward.
It was argued that the increasing globalization of the economy would bring about
a demise of local production systems, under pressure of new global large firms. The
authors discuss the possibility of more nuanced findings and purpose a combination
of the literature on local production systems with theories of economic governance
to assist this process.
There follows a chapter which surveys overall economic development in the four countries,
concentrating on local economies. Then four national surveys take up the theme of
local production systems in Italy, Germany, France, and Britain. A concluding chapter
identifies a diversity of forms of cluster of small firms, and on that basis develops
a sociological critique of current neo-institutionalist theories of markets.
Local production systems are found to be growing, not declining, in importance, as
they facilitate the circulation of tacit knowledge-a precious resource in all sectors
which depend on both constant innovation and flexibility of small enterprises. However,
the most rapidly growing form of these systems is that where groups of small suppliers
depend on major customer firms-a form that in the long run might undermine the autonomous
capacities of local small-firm systems.
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