Khalid Nadvi

Clustering and Industrialization: Introduction

Compared with a decade ago, there is now more optimism concerning the growth and export prospects of small manufacturers in developing countries. Recent research on industrial clusters has made a major contribution to this shift in the debate. There is increasing agreement that clustering helps small enterprises to overcome growth constraints and compete in distant markets but there is also recognition that this is not an automatic outcome.

Making sense of global standards

This book opens a fresh chapter in the debate on local enterprise clusters and their strategies for upgrading in the global economy. The authors employ a novel conceptual framework in their research on industrial clusters in Europe, Latin America and Asia and provide new perspectives and insights for researchers and policymakers alike.

Collective Efficiency and Collective Failure: The Response of the Sialkot Surgical Instrument Cluster to Global Quality Pressures

Abstract One of Pakistans rare examples of consistent export success has been the Sialkot stainless steel surgical instrument cluster. This cluster, consisting mainly of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), has as its main markets the United States and Western Europe. In recent years, access to these markets has become contingent on meeting international quality assurance standards. The hypothesis explored in this paper is that meeting such standards requires greater local cooperation, both among producers as well as between producers and their suppliers and subcontractors. The study draws on quantitative and qualitative data to examine how inter-firm ties, both vertical and horizontal, have changed. The evidence suggests that joint action has increased, but that there remain significant areas of collective failure. Thus, the quality assurance pressures mark a possible turning point for the cluster, raising questions as to whether local sources of competitiveness, captured in the collective efficiency concept, can continue to provide the basis for export success. It also leads directly to an evaluation of the clusters growth trajectory.

Local clusters in global value chains: exploring dynamic linkages between Germany and Pakistan

Recent research has underlined the importance of external linkages for industrial clusters. Suppliers and buyers within a global value chain offer important external ties for cluster-based producers not only in terms of the distribution of physical goods, but also for knowledge flows and innovation. Globalization has intensified such value chain links, connecting geographically dispersed producers to global markets. Yet, there is limited research on how local clusters enter global chains or on ties between clusters in the developed and developing world. This study addresses this gap. It uses the case of the global surgical instrument industry to analyse connections and differences between the industrys leading production clusters in Germany and Pakistan. Global standards, low-cost competition, and advances in medical technology raise challenges for both clusters. The paper explores the responses to these challenges. It distinguishes between knowledge and production links to illustrate differentiation in each cluster, diverging trajectories and continuing ties.

The effect of global standards on local producers: a Pakistani case study

This book opens a fresh chapter in the debate on local enterprise clusters and their strategies for upgrading in the global economy. The authors employ a novel conceptual framework in their research on industrial clusters in Europe, Latin America and Asia and provide new perspectives and insights for researchers and policymakers alike.

Local and Regional Development in Global Value Chains, Production Networks and Innovation Networks: A Comparative Review and the Challenges for Future Research

Globalization as a process has developed exponentially over the past 20 years, generating multiple and opposite effects for local and regional development (LoRD). This has created both new opportunities as well as raising new threats for local actors, both public and private. This special issue sets out to consider the prospects for LoRD in this context. Our aim in the introductory article is to consider how globalization may bring about LoRD. We do this through a comparative review of three critical analytical frameworks that have been used in recent years to examine the changing dynamics of globalization and their consequences for local production systems, namely global value chains, global production networks and global innovation networks. We provide an overview of these distinct approaches, identifying their strengths and weaknesses. Our argument is not that any one of these approaches is necessarily “better” than the others, but rather that to formulate a more complete and dynamic territorial perspective on regional development in the context of globalization, there needs to be an attempt at (eclectically) integrating the elements of these three distinct frameworks. The article then goes on to show how individual contributions in this special issue push forward this agenda, drawing on these distinct analytical frameworks to consider the transformative prospects for LoRD.

Challenges to Vietnamese firms in the world garment and textile value chain, and the implications for alleviating poverty

The global garment and textile industries face changing international trade regimes, concerns with labour standards, new competitors and forms of competition. These challenges have a differentiated impact on developing-country producers and workers. One potential ‘winner’ is Vietnam. This paper uses a global value-chain framework to analyse the Vietnamese experience. It maps Vietnam’s changing position in the global industry, and probes ties between Vietnamese firms and global buyers. It explores links within the Vietnamese garment and textiles sectors, and considers the impact of global challenges on Vietnamese firms and workers. This helps distinguish who are the potential ‘winners’ and ‘losers’.

Rising Powers and Labour and Environmental Standards

There is a growing recognition that the “Rising Powers”, namely the emerging economies, in particular, but not only, China, India and Brazil, whose economic dynamism has begun to transform the contours of the global economy, will bring about radical shifts in global governance. A critical question that arises is how might these countries influence the “rules of the game” that pertain to international trade, particularly those relating to process standards associated with labour conditions and environmental impacts. This special issue provides an initial attempt to address this agenda. This article defines the concept of “Rising Powers” and considers how these economies might challenge the governance of labour and environmental standards. It outlines the objectives of this collection, provides an overview of individual contributions and suggests areas for further research.

Competitiveness and Technological Upgrading in Global Value Chains: Evidence from the Indonesian Electronics and Garment Sectors

Indonesia is a rapidly growing and internationally competitive economy that is well integrated into globalized production systems. The global value chain (GVC) model has proven to be a popular analytical framework to explain how global lead firms structure and organize global production through dispersed global suppliers. Indonesias leading export sectors, garments and electronics, are well integrated into GVCs. Engagement in GVCs, often led by leading global brands, is seen as a basis for local producers to become globally competitive and to grow. It also comes with challenges—local producers must meet the demanding pressures from lead firms on prices, on-time delivery, product quality, and social, environmental and labour standards. The possibilities for local producers to learn, acquire new capabilities and upgrade to enhance their competitiveness are often conditioned by the nature of ties that they have with their global lead firms. Yet, this paper argues, the GVC model fails to recognize agency on the part of local firms in this learning process. Moreover, particular forms of governance arrangements within GVC ties can restrict the prospects for local producers to enhance capabilities and upgrade. Drawing on selected case study evidence from the Indonesian garments and electronics sectors, the paper explores the relationship between distinct types of GVC engagements and firm-level learning and upgrading, and considers how some GVC ties may restrict upgrading.

Labour standards and technological upgrading: competitive challenges in the global football industry

Football manufacturing is a billion dollar industry heavily dominated by major global brands. Over the past 15 years there have been significant changes in the geographies of production with China consolidating its position as the number one football producer taking market share from Pakistan, the second largest producer. On the end market side, newly emerging markets have increased in importance but the EU and the USA have remained dominant. Over the past 15 years global football manufacturing has faced concerns on labour standards compliance and experienced distinct patterns of product and process upgrading. Using the analytical frameworks of global value chains and technological capabilities and learning, this study considers the challenges arising from technological upgrading and labour standards compliance within the global football industry and its implications for local producers.