Schiller An Institutional Perspective on Production and Upgrading

The Electronics Industry in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta
1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-3-515-10566-8
Verlag: Franz Steiner
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Wasserzeichen (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Deutsch, Band 12, 253 Seiten

Reihe: Megacities and Global Change / Megastädte und globaler Wandel.

Production and upgrading processes in emerging economies are studied by geographers and economists since many years. However, the relevance of institutions, in particular the informal ones, has not yet been fully understood. The institutional perspective of this e-book is relevant because regional production and innovation are embedded within multi-layered institutional settings which are enforced by actors at different spatial scales, e.g. local stakeholders, national policy makers, and multinational firms.

This e-book analyses the electronics industry of the mega-urban region of Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta which is the world’s most important production cluster of the industry. A conceptual discussion on the institutional approach to informality and an overview of methods to measure it set the scene for five empirical chapters. The description of the spatial and organisational transition of the electronics industry in the region is followed by a thorough analysis of the role of personal relations for doing business. Finally, the most important issue for the long-term competitiveness of the region is discussed: upgrading and innovation.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Schiller, Daniel

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Wirtschaftssoziologie, Arbeitssoziologie, Organisationssoziologie
• Geowissenschaften Geographie | Raumplanung Humangeographie Wirtschaftsgeographie
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftswissenschaften Unternehmensgeschichte, Einzelne Branchen und Unternehmer

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;CONTENTS;6
2;CHAPTER A. INTRODUCTION;14
3;1. THE RELEVANCE OF THE INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE;14
4;2. AIM, SCOPE AND CONTRIBUTION;17
5;3. POSITIONING THE THESIS WITHIN A LARGER RESEARCH PROJECT;20
6;4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS;23
7;PART I: CONCEPT AND MEASUREMENT OF INFORMALITY;26
8;CHAPTER B. INFORMAL DYNAMICS OF ECONOMIC PROCESSES – CONCEPTUAL REMARKS ON INFORMALITY AND AGILITY IN EMERGING ECONOMIES;28
9;1. THE CONCEPT OF INFORMALITY FROM AN INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE;28
10;2. AGILITY: SUSTAINED COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE BY COMBINING INFORMALITY AND FLEXIBILITY;43
11;3. REGIONAL ASPECTS OF INFORMALITY AND AGILITY: UPGRADING AND RESILIENCE;55
12;4. CONCLUSION;67
13;CHAPTER C. MEASURING INFORMALITY AND FLEXIBILITY – AN OVERVIEW OF DATA AND METHODS USED FOR THE EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS;68
14;1. COMPANY SURVEYS;68
15;2. QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS;71
16;3. MEASURING THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL NETWORKS AND OTHER FACETS OF INFORMALITY;72
17;4. DISCUSSION OF STRENGTHS AND POTENTIAL WEAKNESSESOF THE DATASETS AND INDICATORS;76
18;PART II: INFORMAL ORGANISATION OF BUSINESS ACTIVITIES;80
19;CHAPTER D. SPATIAL AND ORGANISATIONAL TRANSITION OF AN EAST ASIAN HIGH-GROWTH REGION: THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY IN THE GREATER PEARL RIVER DELTA;82
20;1. INTRODUCTION;82
21;2. CONCEPTUALISING SPATIAL AND ORGANISATIONAL TRANSITION IN HIGH-GROWTH REGIONS;84
22;3. EMPIRICAL RESULTS ON SPATIAL TRANSITIONS;90
23;4. EMPIRICAL RESULTS ON ORGANISATIONAL TRANSITIONS;100
24;5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION;106
25;CHAPTER E. PERSONALISATION OF BUSINESS RELATIONS IN HONG KONG AND THE PEARL RIVER DELTA: AN INSTITUTIONAL NECESSITY OR A STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY?;109
26;1. INTRODUCTION;109
27;2. THE RATIONALE BEHIND PERSONALISATION OF BUSINESS RELATIONS;111
28;3. DESCRIPTIVE RESULTS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL NETWORKS;120
29;4. EXPLANATION OF PERSONALISATION PATTERNS;128
30;5. DISCUSSION OF QUALITATIVE EVIDENCE;135
31;6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION;138
32;PART III: INFORMAL ASPECTS OF UPGRADING AND INNOVATION;142
33;CHAPTER F. THE ROLE OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC FIRMS IN REGIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEMS OF LATECOMER COUNTRIES: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY IN THE PEARL RIVER DELTA;144
34;1. INTRODUCTION;144
35;2. CONCEPTUAL CONSIDERATIONS ON THE UPGRADING OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES AND INNOVATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES;146
36;3. OVERVIEW OF THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY IN THE GUANGDONG PROVINCE;149
37;4. INNOVATION AND UPGRADING ACTIVITIES OF DOMESTIC AND NON-DOMESTIC ELECTRONICS FIRMS;152
38;5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION;161
39;CHAPTER G. THE IMPACT OF GOVERNANCE AND STRATEGY ON CORPORATE INNOVATION ACTIVITIES AND FIRM PERFORMANCE IN EMERGING ECONOMIES;163
40;1. INTRODUCTION;163
41;2. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, STRATEGY AND INNOVATION IN EMERGING ECONOMIES;164
42;3. EMPIRICAL RESULTS ON THE IMPACT OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND STRATEGY ON INNOVATION;169
43;4. DISCUSSION;186
44;5. CONCLUSION;191
45;CHAPTER H. UPGRADING STRATEGIES OF FIRMS FROM EMERGING ECONOMIES IN GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS: THREE CASES FROM THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY IN HONG KONG;193
46;1. INTRODUCTION;193
47;2. IDENTIFICATION OF DETERMINANTS FOR UPGRADING ON THREE LEVELS;195
48;3. THE REGIONAL PRODUCTION AND INNOVATION SYSTEM OF HONG KONG AND THE PEARL RIVER DELTA;201
49;4. THE CASE STUDIES;203
50;5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION;208
51;CHAPTER I. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION;214
52;1. SUMMARY OF THE MAJOR FINDINGS;214
53;2. MAJOR FINDINGS WITH RESPECT TO INFORMAL DYNAMICS;219
54;3. POLICY IMPLICATIONS;221
55;4. RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS;223
56;LIST OF REFERENCES;225
57;ANNEX;239

Über Autor(innen)

Schiller, Daniel
PD Dr. Daniel Schiller studied geography majoring in economic geography at Leibniz University Hannover and Vienna University of Economics and Business. He was a research associate at the Institute of Economic and Cultural Geography at Leibniz University Hannover from 2003 to 2012. He completed his PhD thesis on university-industry linkages in Thailand in 2005. In 2012, he received his professorial qualifications (Habilitation) for his work on the electronics industry in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta.

His focus of research is on regional innovation, science and higher education systems, globalization, developing and emerging countries, and public finance. His regional research is mainly about Germany, the European Union and its neighboring countries as well as East- and South East Asia. Since 2012, he is a senior researcher at the Lower Saxony Institute for Economic Research (NIW) and is responsible for the research field "Regions and Institutions".