James Simmie

Innovation, competition and the structure of local production networks: Initial findings from the Hertfordshire project

This paper reports the initial findings of an ESRC-funded study in Hertfordshire into how award-winning innovative firms organise their production arrangements. The study is a pilot project which was based on three initial operational assumptions: first, that innovation is not entirely an aspatial phenomenon; second, that modern production structures are taking new forms - variously described as post-Fordist, or flexible specialisation (flex-spec) - particularly in areas which are rich in commercial research and development (R&D) activities; and, finally, that as a consequence innovative firms in these areas commonly form production linkages with each other to create local production networks (LPNs). The research was carried out in the county of Hertfordshire just to the north of Greater London. Hertfordshire was selected because, according to a number of measures, it is one of the key areas for R&D in the UK. On the basis of our initial, limited empirical sample of firms in Hertfordshire, a key finding of the research was that a significant majority of the innovative firms sampled - both large and small - were not actually organised in LPNs in any recognisable way and that local post-Fordist production was either extremely limited in its operation or, more commonly for most firms, was non-existent - instead, these firms normally acted as local, relatively free-standing entities which were much more likely to be in competition with other local firms, than form production linkages with them.

Innovation projects and local production networks: A case study of Hertfordshire

Abstract This paper evaluates some of the key arguments underlying what is called here the local production network paradigm (LPNP). These are presented as three interlinked hypotheses that turn on the idea that firms competing in world markets need to accommodate continuous change by fostering product or process innovation. The definition of innovation used in this study is “the commercially successful exploitation of new technologies, ideas or methods through the introduction of new products or processes, or through the improvement of existing ones” (EC DG XIII, 1996, p. 54). One conventionally described organizational response to this requirement to accommodate continuous innovation is to dis‐integrate firms and set up local production networks. Local production networks are defined in this study as “collaborative linkages between local firms and local factors of production”. Such networks are said to rely on local resources of various kinds to enable them to innovate on a continuous and incremental ba...

Housing and inequality under state socialism: An analysis of Yugoslavia

Abstract This paper argues that communist party‐dominated societies remain inegalitarian. Among the reasons for this are the inadequacies of Marxist theory with respect to the bases of social stratification, and the consequent reliance by communist parties on the simple abolition of private property rights over the means of production to create egalitarian societies — which they have failed to do. It is argued that Webers concept of power, and his description of social stratification based on the multiple phenomena of social class, status groups and parties, offers an explanation of this failure. In particular, it is argued that status groups and the party itself continue to form the bases of inegalitarian forms of social stratification. The distribution of housing rights and tenures in Yugoslavia is used as an empirical example to illustrate these theoretical arguments. It is shown that social housing is allocated disproportionately to elites among politicians, government officials and the managers of e...

Middle class decline in post-industrial society

Abstract It is argued that the development of a post-industrial society entails problems with the maintenance of effective demand, economic growth, middle class economic growth and middle class aspirations. This is because of a relative decline in traditional middle class, skilled manual and middle income occupations. The development of predominantly service-based employment adds more lower skilled and paid jobs than any others to the work-force. Income polarization is also increased by the addition of smaller numbers of higher professional, managerial and paid employment. The relative difference between higher and lower incomes is greater in the developing service industries than in more traditional manufacturing sectors. These propositions are illustrated by data for the United States as a whole and in greater detail by data for San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.

Kondratiev waves and the future of British cities

Abstract This article argues that the connections between long waves of economic change and the growth and decline of particular cities are very complex. Three elements of this complexity are extracted. First, it is argued that the Schumpeterian view that innovation per se usually causes economic growth is probably wrong. Second, that innovations connected with information technology (IT) need to be considered in terms of their production, intermediate use and final consumption; and that their production is not likely to cause a major economic upswing in the British economy in general or in many particular cities. Finally, some information-technology-related employment growth is the result of the decentralization of intermediate uses often concerned with routine clerical or administrative work.

Will science parks generate the fifth wave

Abstract The paper examines characteristics of science parks in the face of employment decline, raising doubts about the scale of their success. The paper re‐examines previous research on the existence and causes of long waves of economic growth and decline and concludes that if these are not generated by innovations in production, then it should not be surprising that science parks have not lived up to expectations.

Power in Cities

This study of the political sociology of urban development is concerned with the theory and practice of power in cities. A theoretical analysis of the concept, structure and use of power is conducted. An empirical evaluation of the outcomes of its use, with respect to land-use planning in one city, is presented as an illustration of its general characteristics.

Civil Society and the State

It was argued in Chapter 2 that advanced industrial societies are divided into a complex overlapping matrix of social classes, groups and organisations. These divisions are not usually subject to alteration by individuals constrained within them. On the contrary, they are maintained in given forms by the relative power of collections of individuals with different interests in different locations within the matrix. This power may rest on a number of different bases, including organisational position, the possession of high technical knowledge and collective numbers. These bases of power have been added to the traditional ones of the ownership of land and capital. The net result of these changes taking place in advanced industrial societies is to generate an increasingly complex and multi-based system of power relationships and social divisions.

The Empirical Analysis of Power

In order to illustrate the use of power in conditions of corporatism it is necessary to choose a field of government activity which is both of central importance to production and consumption and susceptible to empirical investigation. Among the items most critical to the public and private sectors alike are capital, labour and land. Most scholars are agreed that these form the main factors of production. As such, they are crucial resources in terms of private and public production, their combination forms the basis of consumption and governments are particularly concerned with their exchange and distribution.

Social Class, Organisation and the City

If the study of power is best conducted by examining the outcomes of its use and their distribution between different groups, then significant outcomes must be specified and relevant distributive groupings defined. Part IV describes the significant immediate outcomes of development planning. Chapter 2 examines some definitions of distributive groupings and outlines some previous analyses of their relationships in the context of urban development.