Van Egeraat, Chris
(2012)
Geography of Production Linkages in the Irish and Scottish Microcomputer Industry: The Role of Logistics.
In:
Anniversary Essays: Forty Years of Geography in Maynooth.
National University of Ireland Maynooth, pp. 270-298.
ISBN 9780992746605
Abstract
According to some, the economic crisis of the mid 1970s marked the
transition from the traditional Fordist mode of industrial organization to
one of Time-Based-Competition (Schoenberger, 1997; Stalk, 1988; Stalk
and Hout, 1990). As an industrial paradigm, the 'old', ideal-type, Fordism
was a system of 'assembly-line-based mass production' of standardized
goods (Asheim, 1992). Production took place in large vertically integrated
plants owned and centrally controlled by large, often multinational,
corporations. Rising productivity was based on mechanization, the
pursuit of internal economies of scale, a detailed division of tasks and
work intensification (Amin, 1994). Long production runs and dedicated
machinery were intended to minimize downtime. Driven by similar
considerations, suppliers produced and delivered standardized
components in large, infrequent, batches. Price competitiveness was the
single most important criterion in supplier-selection (Sayer, 1986).
Finally, as regards the geography of production, the narrow focus on
price, production costs and labor cost minimization meant that the
Fordist system was often characterized by an extreme spatial division of
labor and spaced-out supply chains. Peripheral regions were incorporated
in a dependent way through branch-plant investment that contributed
little to regional development.
| Item Type: |
Book Section
|
| Additional Information: |
First published in Economic Geography (2005), 81(3), 283-303 |
| Keywords: |
Production Linkages; Irish; Scottish; Microcomputer Industry; Logistics; Anniversary Essays; Geography; Maynooth; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography |
| Item ID: |
5592 |
| Depositing User: |
Dr. Chris Van Egeraat
|
| Date Deposited: |
05 Dec 2014 10:22 |
| Publisher: |
National University of Ireland Maynooth |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| 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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