We offer the notion of “commons” at different levels—within company, private across company, and government‐sponsored across‐industry sectors—and discuss how the creation of such commons enabled ...firms to be both efficient during normal times and resilient against the disruptions resulting from COVID‐19. At the same time, there are many proven strategies providing resilience in supply chains. For instance, companies that used multiple channels to improve efficiency when facing day‐to‐day demand‐and‐supply variations found that the structure also offered resilience without additional cost when COVID struck. We discuss how the presence of commons lowers the cost for firms to adopt such resilience‐building supply chain strategies. We discuss factors that impact the creation of these commons and conclude with a number of questions to guide further research into the role of industry commons in facilitating supply chain resilience.
This paper argues that provision of industrial commons (IC), might be consideredas a crucial factor of a cluster’s attractiveness in digital transformation, e.g. inIndustry 4.0 (I4.0) time. By ...drawing on the qualitative case study method of HamburgAviation cluster (HAv), it aims at exploring the nature of IC in the leading GermanI4.0 cluster. Proximity emerges, even if sometimes not explicitly, as the recurring topicfacilitating the provision of IC, along with the advancement of I4.0. As Industry 4.0stipulates much uncertainty, the closeness featuring in clusters, seems to bring variousbenefits, which can help address challenges associated with I4.0, and faced mainly bysmall and medium firms (SMEs). The vicinity to key actors and the gains of networking,reflect the importance of (un)articulated proximity
Firms may grow and decline, and their impact on the regional economy can be attributed not only to each firm but also to their inter-firm networks in the region. Therefore, firms and their ...connectivity should be understood within the context of the regional industrial ecosystem. To empirically show the role of inter-firm networks for the sustainability of the regional industrial ecosystem, this study analyses the automotive industry in South Korea. The Automobile Parts Yearbook, the main data source for the study, provides the addresses of 892 firms and the connectivity between five major automakers and their subcontractors. A network-based approach is chosen to untangle the complex production network and compare the network structure by region. Specifically, the number of nodes, links and connections, as well as density and modularity measures, are analytically compared across six sub-regions in the country. There are more links within the groups than between the groups, which suggests preferential attachment in the network structure. Multiple centralised structures are observed to exist around the five major automakers in sub-regions in South Korea. The empirical results of the paper imply that firms with multiple trading networks in the regional industrial ecosystem tend to recover from an industrial crisis or employment shock crisis more successfully than companies with a single trading network. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of understanding the role of inter-firm networks in regional industrial ecosystems for promoting sustainability and resilience.
By analyzing how Korea has upgraded its industrial capabilities in the course of corporate globalization, this article holds that some versions of developmental state work better in the globalization ...process. Globalizing national corporations, neoliberal optimism notwithstanding, does not necessarily result in upgrading domestic innovation capabilities. In the United States, free-market firms may benefit through offshoring, but they create holes in the industrial linkages or industrial commons at home, enfeebling US capability for innovation. By contrast, the Korean government successfully upgraded domestic firms’ innovation capabilities and reduced the possibility of deindustrialization in the course of globalization by moving from classical developmentalism to a new form of development based on inclusive and collaborative networks. Korea’s earlier classical developmentalism focused on mobilization of physical capital, funneling it exclusively to a few firms.
Purpose - The paper sheds light on the changing economics of foreign outsourcing, and the risks being run by companies that engage in the practice.Design methodology approach - The author surveys the ...history of foreign outsourcing over the last several decades and the disastrous impact that it has had on manufacturing in the USA. The paper also reviews more recent developments reported in the press.Findings - Given rapidly rising costs and risks in host countries, the "outsourcing dividend" is now questionable. At the same time, firms can take advantage of new opportunities in digital fabrication.Research limitations implications - Further research is needed on methodologies for accounting for the full costs and risks of foreign outsourcing.Practical implications - Firms should think long and hard before launching foreign outsourcing. Firms should also re-examine the root cause of the practice, i.e. pursuit of short-term profits rather than delighting customers through continuous innovation. Some firms will need to consider retrieving manufacture that was previously outsourced in a foreign country. Firms should also be exploring the new opportunities represented by digital fabrication.Originality value - The paper summarizes what is known about the economics of foreign outsourcing and questions the continuance of this widespread business practice, which has devastated manufacturing in many developed countries. It presents a further reason why firms need to shift from traditional management to radical management.
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