Locating Global Advantage: Industry Dynamics in the International Economy (Innovation and Technology in the World Economy)

What are the forces that are driving firms and industries to globalize their operations? This volume explores how specific industries have organized their global operations through case studies of seven manufacturing industries: garments and textiles, automobiles and auto parts, televisions, hard disk drives, flat panel displays, semiconductors, and personal computers. Based on long-term research sponsored by the Sloan Foundation, the chapters provide readers with a nuanced understanding of the complex matrix of factor costs, access to inimitable capabilities, and time-based pressures that influence where firms decide to locate particular segments of the value chain.The book examines globalization within the context of five factors affecting locational decisions: advances in transportation and communication; the clustering of knowledge assets; the drive to reduce cycle times; the commodification of existing products; and the relative advantages of proximity to customers. The case studies are framed by Paul Deguid’s Preface on the significance of power in value chains and Bruce Kogut’s conclusion on the importance of knowledge in locational decisions. Together, the chapters reveal a remarkable diversity of responses across industries to these forces, and suggest that any understanding of globalization must appreciate this diversity. This volume is ideal for both MBA and undergraduate students studying the location of economic activities by multinational firms. Acknowledgments......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Tables......Page 10 Figures......Page 12 Preface: In Vino Veritas?, by Paul Duguid......Page 14 Contributors......Page 28 1. Introduction, by Martin Kenney......Page 36 2. Globalization in the Apparel and Textile Industries: What Is New and What Is Not? by Frederick H. Abernathy, John T. Dunlop, Janice H. Hammond, and David Weil ......Page 58 3. Globalization, Deverticalization, and Employment in the Motor Vehicle Industry, by Timothy Sturgeon and Richard Florida ......Page 87 4. The Shifting Value Chain: The Television Industry in North America, by Martin Kenney ......Page 117 5. The Organizational and Geographic Configuration of the Personal Computer Value Chain, by James Curry and Martin Kenney ......Page 148 6. Leveraging Locations: Hard Disk Drive Producers in International Competition, by David G. McKendrick ......Page 177 7. Industry Creation and the New Geography of Innovation: The Case of Flag Panel Displays, by Thomas P. Murtha, Stefanie Ann Lenway, and Jeffrey A. Hart......Page 210 8. Globalization and Semiconductors: Do Real Men Have Fabs, or Virtual Fabs? by Robert C. Leachman and Chien H. Leachman ......Page 238 9. The Net World Order’s Influence on Global Leadership in the Semiconductor Industry, by Greg Linden, Clair Brown, and Melissa M. Appleyard ......Page 267 10. Conclusion: From Regions and Firms to Multinational Highways: Knowledge and Its Diffusion as a Factor in the Globalization of Industries, by Bruce Kogut ......Page 296 References ......Page 318 Index......Page 336 What are the forces that are driving firms and industries to globalize their operations? This volume explores how specific industries have organized their global operations through case studies of seven manufacturing garments and textiles, automobiles and auto parts, televisions, hard disk drives, flat panel displays, semiconductors, and personal computers. Based on long-term research sponsored by the Sloan Foundation, the chapters provide readers with a nuanced understanding of the complex matrix of factor costs, access to inimitable capabilities, and time-based pressures that influence where firms decide to locate particular segments of the value chain. The book examines globalization within the context of five factors affecting locational advances in transportation and communication; the clustering of knowledge assets; the drive to reduce cycle times; the commodification of existing products; and the relative advantages of proximity to customers. The case studies are framed by Paul Deguids Preface on the significance of power in value chains and Bruce Koguts conclusion on the importance of knowledge in locational decisions. Together, the chapters reveal a remarkable diversity of responses across industries to these forces, and suggest that any understanding of globalization must appreciate this diversity. This volume is ideal for both MBA and undergraduate students studying the location of economic activities by multinational firms. "What are the forces that are driving firms and industries to globalize their operations? This volume explores how specific industries have organized their global operations through case studies of seven manufacturing industries: garments and textiles, automobiles and auto parts, televisions, hard disk drives, flat panel displays, semiconductors, and personal computers. Based on long-term research sponsored by the Sloan Foundation, the chapters provide readers with a nuanced understanding of the complex matrix of factor costs, access to inimitable capabilities, and time-based pressures that influence where firms decide to locate particular segments of the value chain. The book examines globalization within the context of five factors affecting locational decisions: advances in transportation and communication; the clustering of knowledge assets; the drive to reduce cycle times; the commodification of existing products; and the relative advantages of proximity to customers. The case studies are framed by Paul Deguid's Preface on the significance of power in value chains and Bruce Kogut's conclusion on the importance of knowledge in locational decisions. Together, the chapters reveal a remarkable diversity of responses across industries to these forces, and suggest that any understanding of globalization must appreciate this diversity."--Publisher's website Globalization in the apparel and textile industries : what is new and what is not? / Frederick H. Abernathy, John T. Dunlop, Janice H. Hammond, and David Weil Globalization, deverticalization, and employment in the motor vehicle industry / Timothy Sturgeon and Richard Florida The shifting value chain : the television industry in North America / Martin Kenney The organizational and geographic configuration of the personal computer value chain / James Curry and Martin Kenney Leveraging locations : hard disk drive producers in international competition / David G. Mckendrick Industry creation and the new geography of innovation : the case of flat panel displays / Thomas P. Murtha, Stefanie Ann Lenway, and Jeffrey A. Hart Globalization of semiconductors : do real men have fabs, or virtual fabs? / Robert C. Leachman and Chien H. Leachman The net world order's influence on global leadership in the semiconductor industry / Greg Linden, Clair Brown, and Melissa M. Appleyard From regions and firms to multinational highways : knowledge and its diffusion as a factor in the globalization of industries / Bruce Kogut What are the forces that are driving firms and industries to globalize their operations? This volume explores how specific industries have organized their global operations through case studies of seven manufacturing industries including: garments and textiles, televisions and personal computers