Van Egeraat, Chris and Jacobson, David (2005) Information Exchange and the Geography of Production Linkages: The Microcomputer Industry in Ireland and Scotland (NIRSA) Working Paper Series. No.26. Working Paper. NIRSA - National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis.

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Abstract

This paper considers the idea that technical information exchange in the context of Time-Based-Competition encourages buyer-supplier proximity and local production linkages. The relevance of this idea was tested in a study of 11 subsidiaries of multinational microcomputer assemblers operating in Ireland and Scotland. We show that the assembly plants sourced the vast majority of inputs from regions outside Ireland and Britain and where we find regional linkages, proximity was generally not driven by considerations related to information exchange. Part of the explanation lies in the fact that the European operations played a limited role in technological coordination with suppliers. Another reason is that much of the technical information exchange in the industry is of a relatively limited intensity requiring low levels of face-to-face contact.

Item Type:	Monograph (Working Paper)
Keywords:	Computer industry; Multinational enterprises; Linkages; Information exchange; NIRSA
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Institutes > National Institute for Regional and Spatial analysis, NIRSA
Item ID:	1168
Identification Number:	26
Depositing User:	NIRSA Editor
Date Deposited:	15 Jan 2009 13:57
Publisher:	NIRSA - National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis
URI:	Organisation
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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