Jocelyn Probert

Globalization and Labour Market Segmentation: The Impact of Global Production Networks on Employment Patterns of German and UK Clothing Firms

The clothing industry in developed economies was among the first to take on a global dimension, and is today geographically dispersed around the world (Dicken, 2003). As the industry has not been amenable to technological rationalization, its low capital and relatively high labour intensity1 have made it an obvious candidate for development in newly industrializing countries. Due to huge discrepancies in wage levels between developing and developed countries (Figure 8.1), firms in the latter have had to reorganize their value chain. The result has been the steadily increasing (in some European countries, almost total) outsourcing of production to lower-wage developing countries and drastic employment cuts in developed countries, particularly of semi-skilled jobs like sewing. Nevertheless, the clothing industry remains a significant employer.

The ‘soft company’ business model of high-tech growth

Despite the overwhelming emphasis placed upon it in the innovation and entrepreneurship literature, the Silicon Valley model of venture capital investment is not the only way to develop new high-ri...

SMEs in the Global Economy: A Comparison of the Global Production Networks of German and British Clothing Firms

Trans-nationally active firms are conventionally held to be large and well-resourced, but in the German and British clothing industries most firms are small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These firms are global in that they independently construct sourcing networks stretching over several continents. However, their sales operations have remained mainly nationally oriented. In terms of ownership structure, turnover and number of employees, too, they resemble domestic rather than global firms.