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The Role of Tradition in Japan's Industrialization: Another Path to Industrialization

Masayuki Tanimoto

in The Role of Tradition in Japan's Industrialization: Another Path to Industrialization

This chapter provides an introduction to the book and relates the succeeding chapters to theoretical and comparative issues in the English-language literature. It presents an overview of author’s ... More

This chapter provides an introduction to the book and relates the succeeding chapters to theoretical and comparative issues in the English-language literature. It presents an overview of author’s research on the rural weaving industry. After showing comparative quantitative data on the weight of small businesses, the chapter shows the development of the rural weaving industry up to the 1920s, discussing the functions of the putting-out system combined with peasant household strategy. The role of economic and social institutions together with the economy of the industrial district is also discussed, based on this case study addressing the recent scholarship of Japanese economic history. This particular pattern of development is conceptualized as ‘indigenous development’, and its implications are considered within the context of comparative economic development.Less

Business in the Regions: From ‘Old’ Districts to ‘New’ Clusters?

Andrew Popp and John Wilson

in Business in Britain in the Twentieth Century: Decline and Renaissance?

This chapter adopts a long run perspective to survey the place of the regions in the British economy over the last 250 years; from the ‘old’ industrial districts of the first industrial revolution to ... More

This chapter adopts a long run perspective to survey the place of the regions in the British economy over the last 250 years; from the ‘old’ industrial districts of the first industrial revolution to the ‘new’ industrial clusters of the third industrial revolution. The chapter asks how a regionally oriented perspective can add to or alter dominant narratives in English economic and business history. Through a structured, dynamic analysis of these two apparently distinct eras during which the local came to the fore, it argues that spatial factors are not incidental to long-run processes in English economic history; that powerful spatial factors have not simply been path-dependent but also path-forming; and that these factors can play a significant role in explaining long-run processes of restructuring, at organizational and strategic as well as at spatial levels, and thus bear an important relation to questions of national economic performance. Consideration of these issues requires an appreciation of the strategic and organizational characteristics and competitive advantages associated with clustering and of their dynamic properties. Two concepts are key to the latter issue; life-cycle and lock-in. Throughout, these concepts are fused with the historians' appreciation of narrative, agency and contingency. The chapter concludes that despite considerable continuities, the ‘new’ clusters of the 21st century display a fragility that marks them out from the ‘old’ clusters of the 18th and 19th centuries.Less

The Governance of Work Systems

Arndt Sorge

in The Global and the Local: Understanding the Dialectics of Business Systems

Comparative studies of work, organization, management, human resources, and industrial relation in Germany — according to methodologically rigorous standards of international comparison — have been ... More

Comparative studies of work, organization, management, human resources, and industrial relation in Germany — according to methodologically rigorous standards of international comparison — have been carried out since the 1950s. They show the consequences of the meta-tradition on the South Germanic bedrock: a prevalence of small and medium-sized companies with personalized owner-manager arrangements, but with similarities and links between these and larger enterprises; continuity of education and training ‘from the bottom up’ to top management; continuity of careers; and professionalization of work roles encompassing representation of interests and governance, diffusion, and piecemeal development of technology rather than mobilization for radical break-throughs. Such tendencies have asserted themselves relative to other societies in different historical, technical, and organizational instances. But there has also developed a within-nation variety of work systems, which may lead to different comparative results between sectors or industries. Nevertheless, even these can be explained by the dialectics inherent to societal effects.Less

Communal Action in the Development of Regional Industrial Policy: A Case Study of the Kawamata Silk Weaving Industry

Futoshi Yamauchi

in The Role of Tradition in Japan's Industrialization: Another Path to Industrialization

This chapter examines the ‘industrial policy’ executed in the industrial district, Kawamata. The local government and associations made various attempts to support the development of silk weaving ... More

This chapter examines the ‘industrial policy’ executed in the industrial district, Kawamata. The local government and associations made various attempts to support the development of silk weaving industry. An investigation into these practices and actions, as well as the conflicts within the regions, shows that both the silk traders and the rural elites played key roles in the process. Their activities were motivated by the widespread understanding within the region that the rural elites had to take responsibility for the development of the regional economy.Less

Interfirm Relations in Global Manufacturing: Disintegrated Production and Its Globalization

Gary Herrigel

in Manufacturing Possibilities: Creative Action and Industrial Recomposition in the United States, Germany, and Japan

This chapter outlines the globalization of disintegrated production. It discusses the relationship between contemporary global disintegrated trends and earlier discussions of disintegration that came ... More

This chapter outlines the globalization of disintegrated production. It discusses the relationship between contemporary global disintegrated trends and earlier discussions of disintegration that came out of literatures on industrial districts and the Japanese system of production. Elements of both are contained within current practices. A second section discusses the locational dynamics within supply chains dominated by multinational corporations. A final section looks at small and medium sized firm efforts to globalize within contemporary transnational supply chains and examines a range of public policy efforts to support sme globalizationLess

Introduction: Multinational Corporations as Lead Agents of Globalization?

Peer Hull Kristensen and Jonathan Zeitlin

in Local Players in Global Games: The Strategic Constitution of a Multinational Corporation

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of two major developments during the end of the 20th century: the growth of industrial districts or regional clusters of smaller firms in many ... More

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of two major developments during the end of the 20th century: the growth of industrial districts or regional clusters of smaller firms in many market segments and expanded global reach of large multinational corporations (MNCs). The construction of MNCs in the current globalization debate is then assessed. The three main parts of this book is described.Less

Collective Goods in the Local Economy: The Packaging Machinery Cluster in Bologna

Henry Farrell and Louise Holten

in Changing Governance of Local Economies: Responses of European Local Production Systems

This chapter examines the packaging machinery cluster in Bologna. It focuses on the mix of governance institutions affecting the industrial district of packaging machine producers, and the ‘Emilian ... More

This chapter examines the packaging machinery cluster in Bologna. It focuses on the mix of governance institutions affecting the industrial district of packaging machine producers, and the ‘Emilian model’ as a whole — the state, associations, and relations among firms. It argues that local collective competition goods determine the success or failure of industrial districts.Less

Large Firms and Industrial Districts in Europe: Deregionalization, Re‐Regionalization, and the Transformation of Manufacturing Flexibility

Gary Herrigel

in Regions, Globalization, and the Knowledge-Based Economy

The current challenges to industrial districts in Europe are examined, and a range of possible scenarios is outlined for dealing with the situation. The main sections of the chapter address the ... More

The current challenges to industrial districts in Europe are examined, and a range of possible scenarios is outlined for dealing with the situation. The main sections of the chapter address the following: varieties of industrial flexibility; deregionalization and re‐regionalization of production led by large firms; the long‐term viability of industrial districts such as Baden–Württemberg in Germany; and the role of regional governments and policy makers in offering assistance.Less

Chicago's Planned Industrial Districts: Clearing and the Central Manufacturing District

in Chicago Made: Factory Networks in the Industrial Metropolis

The Central Manufacturing District (CMD) and the Clearing Yards are among the earliest examples of planned industrial districts, or, as they are otherwise known, organized districts, industrial ... More

The Central Manufacturing District (CMD) and the Clearing Yards are among the earliest examples of planned industrial districts, or, as they are otherwise known, organized districts, industrial parks, and science parks. What they all had in common was joint private and public involvement in the creation of space that was solely given over to industrial functions. CMD is America's first operating planned industrial district—a full-service, industrial real estate development that was sandwiched between the Union Stock Yard and Bridgeport, and was founded by railroad interests to increase their freight volume and to take advantage of their land holdings. The CMD grew quickly and by World War I the district's 300 acres of industrial property were home to 200 concerns and 15,000 workers. The Clearing Yards covered an area of almost five square miles. With 150 miles of track and a capacity of 10,000 cars daily, they were the largest gravity switch and classification yards in the world.Less

Forging the Calumet District, 1880–1940

in Chicago Made: Factory Networks in the Industrial Metropolis

This chapter discusses the development of Calumet into an industrial district. The construction of elaborate and effective business relationships underpinned the development of the Calumet complex. ... More

This chapter discusses the development of Calumet into an industrial district. The construction of elaborate and effective business relationships underpinned the development of the Calumet complex. These relationships involved the supply of finance, information, raw materials, and semi-processed products between different company plants (intra-firm) and between different companies (inter-firm). These interactions operated at various spatial levels; some businesses were vertically integrated and had many of their raw material, financial, and research links outside of the Calumet district, while others had few outside interactions and were locally based. The fact that most Calumet industries drew upon numerous suppliers and sold in different markets permitted co-industrialization to take place.Less

Reinventing Industrial Property

Robert Lewis

in Chicago's Industrial Decline: The Failure of Redevelopment, 1920-1975

This chapter demonstrates the Mayor's Committee for Economic and Cultural Development (CECD) that substituted the Chicago Land Clearance Commission's (CLCC) strategy of using government funds to ... More

This chapter demonstrates the Mayor's Committee for Economic and Cultural Development (CECD) that substituted the Chicago Land Clearance Commission's (CLCC) strategy of using government funds to replace razed blighted space with new industrial districts. It examines the methods used by the CECD to modernize the practices that induced industrial firms to invest in city property. It also points out how the CECD was instrumental in shaping how city leaders viewed industrial property through the 1960s and early 1970s. The chapter recounts CECD's work to resituate industrial property as a space for science-led industrial development and the rejuvenation of existing factory areas between 1961 and 1976. It cites how the CECD contributed to the government-led economic development policies that became increasingly common in the United States since the 1970s by forcing the city and industrial institutions to rethink how to promote industrial growth.Less

Members and Interests

Robert J. Bennett

in Local Business Voice: The History of Chambers of Commerce in Britain, Ireland, and Revolutionary America, 1760-2011

The membership is assessed in detail for the earliest chambers in terms of their geographical reach, sector structure, balance of company structures, trading markets, overlap with other networks, and ... More

The membership is assessed in detail for the earliest chambers in terms of their geographical reach, sector structure, balance of company structures, trading markets, overlap with other networks, and links to protests and religious dissent. Banking appears to have been a leading sector within chambers. Modern developments have interrelated with changes in industrial district structures, expansion of the incorporated business form, evolving networks, changes in international trade, and the expansion of small firms. A remarkable finding is the market penetration of chamber membership has stayed stable over 200 years. Pressures from the world wars and economic slumps have been relatively short-lived. Econometric analysis shows service development as the main feature associated with stronger market penetration. The only major changes to this stability have come from the 1990s, and appear to relate to the mixed signals from acting as partners with government.Less

Networked Space: The Connected Metropolis in the 1920s

in Chicago Made: Factory Networks in the Industrial Metropolis

In November 1927, Campbell Soup announced the construction of a plant with floor space of more than 1 million square feet at the Dickinson Industrial District. The first unit—a six-story concrete ... More

In November 1927, Campbell Soup announced the construction of a plant with floor space of more than 1 million square feet at the Dickinson Industrial District. The first unit—a six-story concrete structure flanked by three-story buildings on either side, with 800,000 square feet of floor space—was finished a year later. An unusual feature of the new factory was its relationship to a supplier. Cans, the company's major packaging material, were supplied by a specially constructed factory next door to the soup plant. Continental Can's four-story building would “be engaged exclusively in producing cans for the Campbell Soup company.” The sagas of Campbell–Continental and food processing-canning illustrate the geography of inter-firm relations. The two companies were firmly embedded in a multiple set of business relationships, which stretched across metropolitan, regional, and international industrial landscapes. Success involved taking advantage of both local and long-distance flows of goods, ideas, knowledge, and capital. Similarly, Chicago's industrial economy was sustained by an elaborate set of intra- and inter-firm relations operating at different spatial scales. The evidence shows that while regional and national interactions were important to local firms and industries, a well-embedded local production complex was critical to Chicago's success as an industrial economy.Less

Large-scale Industry

Tirthankar Roy

in The Economic History of India, 1857-1947

In the nineteenth century, India saw the emergence of large factories, machinery, and government regulation of industrial work—three features that define a large-scale industry. The industrialization ... More

In the nineteenth century, India saw the emergence of large factories, machinery, and government regulation of industrial work—three features that define a large-scale industry. The industrialization that began in colonial India catalysed the formation of ‘industrial districts’, and the new generation of manufacturing industries and highly skilled services were concentrated in the cities. This chapter first provides a statistical overview of India's large-scale industry before turning to the stages of growth of the industry. It also examines major industries, labour, capital, technology, entrepreneurship, management, and the princely states. The chapter concludes by considering general issues about the growth and significance of the large-scale industry.Less

An Industrial Strategy for UK Cities

David Bailey, Keith Cowling, and Philip R. Tomlinson

in New Perspectives on Industrial Policy for a Modern Britain

This chapter explores the potential for industrial policy to rejuvenate UK cities. The chapter argues that while agglomeration (of activity) is necessary, it is not sufficient generate the Jacobian ... More

This chapter explores the potential for industrial policy to rejuvenate UK cities. The chapter argues that while agglomeration (of activity) is necessary, it is not sufficient generate the Jacobian externalities to facilitate innovation and sustainable development. The chapter argues cities require a diverse economic base to generate serendipitous cross-sector spillovers, and this springs from a relatively diffuse economic governance structure. Unfortunately, many UK cities (outside London and the Greater South East) have struggled to maintain their earlier economic dynamism and are largely ‘locked in’ to mono-sectoral profiles, which reflect a long-standing over-reliance (for investment and employment opportunities) upon corporate entities. The chapter concludes by suggesting that much can be learned from the experience of industrial districts in generating a new dynamic within UK cities, with new districts—with coherence in a city environment—possibly forming the basis for UK industrial strategy.Less

Diffusion

Robert J. Bennett

in Local Business Voice: The History of Chambers of Commerce in Britain, Ireland, and Revolutionary America, 1760-2011

Chambers were initially small in number and focused in the main ports. This was explained by their political weight, experience of lobbying for private Bills for infrastructure development ... More

Chambers were initially small in number and focused in the main ports. This was explained by their political weight, experience of lobbying for private Bills for infrastructure development (especially wet docks and canals), and their focus on networks of economic and social exchange. This chapter shows that their diffusion was generally down the population rank-size distribution of cities, eventually penetrating the whole market for local voice. However, the chapter shows that there was important regional differentiation, and there were some notable barriers to diffusion as a result of resistance. In London this included resistance from central government. In centres, such as Bristol, Dublin, Cork, and Londonderry, it was resistance from the pre-Reform local corporation; other centres had mixed support from pre-existing bodies such as the Merchant Adventurers, Staplers, and commercial committees.Less

The Industrial Section

in Los Angeles in the 1930s: The WPA Guide to the City of Angels

Although Los Angeles is widely known for its manufacture of motion pictures and aircraft, and the extensive commercial development around its harbor, relatively few people are aware that it produces ... More

Although Los Angeles is widely known for its manufacture of motion pictures and aircraft, and the extensive commercial development around its harbor, relatively few people are aware that it produces such diversified goods as automobiles, clothing, pottery, and canned fish in such quantities as to put it in a high place among the industrial cities of the nation. Although the city's industrial plants are widely scattered, its largest industrial district is a fairly compact stretch along the railroad-lined Los Angeles River, plants overflowing the city limits into many small, new, independent communities that wholly depend upon the factories for their livelihood. This chapter describes some of these industrial plants including the J. A. Bauer Pottery Co. Plant, Los Angeles Brewery, Capitol Milling Company Flour Mill, Cudahy Packing Company Plant, and Old Mission Winery.Less