Evaluating the Risk of Plant Closure in the Automotive Industry in Spain

This study looks at the reorganization of production in the context of a multi-plant firm in the automotive industry. Changes in such firms may result in the closure of some plants and/or the opening of others. The article provides a method for assessing the risk of plant closure, and then applies that method to a specific case: the automotive plants located in the Spanish region of Navarre. This entails acknowledging the factors that increase what has come to be known as the “degree of vulnerability” of the plant, including sunk costs and relative productivity levels. This paper can also be understood as a source of information for designing developmental after-care programmes for foreign direct investors in the periphery of the European Union.     

Foreign Direct Investment in a Recent Entrant to the EU: The Case of the Automotive Industry in Romania

A U.S.-based geographer presents the results of a survey of car and parts manufacturers in Romania with a focus on the role of foreign direct investment in the restructuring of the sector. Using a questionnaire and personal interviews, the author investigates and identifies the main factors attracting foreign automakers to Romania, which experienced a difficult transition after the collapse of the country's command economy and the ensuing loss of automotive exports to the neighboring states of CMEA. The paper covers the development of foreign ownership of vehicle assembly and car parts manufacturing plants, as well as the effects of foreign investment on Romania's national and local economies. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: D20, F21, L62. 1 figure, 2 tables, 68 references.     

Assessing the Importance of Local Supporting Organizations in the Automotive Industry: A Hybrid Dynamic Framework of Innovation Networks

Abstract

The advancement of knowledge on networks entails acknowledging the heterogeneity of their participants, more precisely, the organizations that lie beyond the scope of the activities of firms. Adopting a dynamic perspective of networks, and considering different types of innovation exchanges, we propose a hybrid and wider notion of industry which implies taking account of a set of local supporting organizations (LSOs) in domains such as research and technology, production factors, consultancy and training, and public support. Based on a rich data set built from face-to-face interviews with Portuguese automotive organizations, which resulted in a network comprising 867 organizations, we apply social network analysis techniques to analyse the structure, content and dynamics of the networks. The evidence gathered unveiled huge industry turbulence and significant changes in the boundaries of the Portuguese automotive networks over a 20-year period, with the emergence (and decline) of different prominent organizations. Specifically, following AutoEuropa major foreign direct investment (in 1995), the analyses reflect a clear increase in connectivity within the industry (from 524, before 1995, up to 2327 connections after 1995), with greater involvement among suppliers and between suppliers and LSOs, with the latter achieving top positions in the ranking of innovation networks.     

Multinational Knowledge Strategies,Policy and the Upgrading Process of Regions: Revisiting the Automotive Industry in Ostrava and Shanghai

This paper revisits how and why new multinational knowledge-based strategies and multi-level governmental policies influence the upgrading process of regions in developing economies. Automotive multinationals traditionally exploited local asset conditions, but it is shown that they have also been contributing to knowledge-generation systems via investments in R&D centres and cooperation with regional knowledge producers. We discern three elements of the upgrading process of regions—upgrading of domestic firms, subsidiary evolution and establishment of strategic relations with local knowledge institutes—to analyse two case studies: Ostrava (Czech Republic) and Shanghai (China). The cases show that all types of upgrading—product, process, chain and functional—have taken place in the last years, and that follow sourcing may have a positive impact on regional upgrading. These observations provide lessons for governments in developing economies which aim to strengthen innovation-based regional development.     

The Birmingham Button Industry

Abstract

The city of Birmingham has been the birthplace of many industries and, somewhat surprisingly, one of the most important of these is the button industry, since this small but indispensable item appears to have been a major factor behind the increasing prosperity of 18th- and 19th-century Birmingham.     

米卢斯 法德“混血”的汽车博物馆

<正>阿尔萨斯因为是课文《最后一课》的背景地而被中国人熟知,由于普法战争法国战败,阿尔萨斯和洛林两个省被割让给普鲁士。当文中小弗朗士跑去上课的时候,还看到操场上的普鲁士士兵操练,可当进入教室,却与小镇的人一起心情沉重起来,因为这是他们最后一次法语课,第二天开始将学习德语。不过,读过文章虽然令读者充满同情,但历史上的阿尔萨斯被两     

米卢斯 法德“混血”的汽车博物馆

<正>阿尔萨斯因为是课文《最后一课》的背景地而被中国人熟知,由于普法战争法国战败,阿尔萨斯和洛林两个省被割让给普鲁士。当文中小弗朗士跑去上课的时候,还看到操场上的普鲁士士兵操练,可当进入教室,却与小镇的人一起心情沉重起来,因为这是他们最后一次法语课,第二天开始将学习德语。不过,读过文章虽然令读者充满同情,但历史上的阿尔萨斯被两     

中坝遗址的盐业考古研究

中坝遗址考古发掘中,发现了时代较早的井盐生产遗址。结合古代文献中有关古代巴人的记载,这些考古发现对提示和研究中国西南地区盐业的起源发展,具有重要意义。     

关于日本的风俗业

战后,日本门除公娼制度.《卖春防止法》的颁布,标志着日本从法律上成为禁止性交易的国家,但没有完全遏制性交易的发展.《风俗营业的规制与业务适当化等相关法律》在一定程度上抑制了性交易的公开化、透明化,保护了青少年的健康成长,但为性交易的发生提供了的场所、创造了条件.这两部法律构成了对性交易予以“限制”与“疏导”的基础.此外,性交易双方及普通民众对性交易行为本身的接纳方面持宽容态度.     

The Linen Industry of Shropshire

Abstract

The discovery in 1975 of part of Charles Bage's iron framed Castlefields flax mill led the author to study Shropshire's other linen factories and the domestic manufacture of linen and ropes during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The manufacture of linen by cottagers and farmers from home grown hemp survived, alongside the factories, into the nineteenth century. The hempen cloth produced in Shropshire was rarely sold at markets or fairs, and was made mainly by country families for their own use. The survival of such a cottage industry into the nineteenth century was rare in England, and the existence of a workforce skilled in the preparation and manufacture of hemp and flax was probably one of the factors which influenced Shropshire entrepreneurs to manufacture linen in their factories, rather than cotton.     

Geographical Perspectives on Producer Service Industry Research in Australia

In contrast to the situation in North America and Europe, producer services research in Australia has largely focused on their international role rather than their domestic one. The growing internationalisation of the Australian economy in the last decade has been closely interrelated with the progressive internationalisation of producer service industries. International banking and finance as well as trade-related services have had significant urban impacts in major cities. Australia's growing linkages with East Asia are having impacts on the geography of service industries. However, little is known about the urban and regional implications of economic restructuring in these industries. There are important urban and regional implications resulting from the externalisation of services from manufacturing, as well as from the shedding of labour on the part of large service industry organisations. Similarly, little attention has been given to urban and regional implications of producer services by policy makers either at a federal or state government level.     

历史瓷业地理研究刍议

历史瓷业地理考察区域瓷业起源、发展、衰落的时空过程,瓷业相关要素的空间差异及其原因,以及瓷业与区域经济、文化和区域人群的关联性,是一个既有专门性又有综合性的研究领域。历史瓷业地理的研究可以采用系统地理学和区域地理学两种视角,一方面选择瓷业要素进行时空分析;另一方面对各区域瓷业生产的历史进行全面考察。时空过程、区域分析和人地关系,共同构成历史瓷业地理研究的核心。     

蓬勃发展的上海旅游业

本文在分析上海旅游业近年来的蓬勃发展的基础上,进一步展示了上海旅游业的广阔前景,阐明了上海旅游业对经济与社会发展所产生的积极推动作用。     

Immigrant Needs and Local Government Services

Upon their arrival in the United States, immigrants, whether documented or undocumented, impact the provision of local government services. Survey data collected from four immigrant groups (Nicaraguans, Haitians, Central Americans, and Mexicans) in Miami, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada examine the question of whether country of origin is a predictor of local government service utilization by immigrants. The findings suggest that immigrants, regardless of country of origin, share similar characteristics and attitudes regarding life in the United States. The major differences among the immigrant groups studied appear to be in their plans for the future. The Mexican respondents were likely to be described as sojourners, with plans to return to their home country, while the other groups intended to settle permanently in the United States. At the local level, these findings suggest that policymakers must be sensitive to motivations of the immigrants who locate in their areas, understanding the implications for service delivery in multilanguage, multiculture communities.     

跨文化管理研究在中国酒店业经营管理提升和品牌创建中的应用

本文讨论了中国酒店业30年发展历程中始终面临的几个方面的文化问题。例如,跨国酒店公司的海外投资对发展中国家在经济和社会文化方面的积极和消极影响;现代信息技术对酒店管理的促进作用和带来的问题;酒店经营全球一体化与文化多样化之间的关系;中外酒店管理者的文化差异和文化冲突;中国酒店业跨国经营的文化适应等。本文提出,应当加强跨文化管理研究在酒店经营管理中的应用,它可以有效地提升经营管理人员的业务水平,促进酒店业经营管理的国际合作,优化酒店产品营销,指导酒店硬件设施建设,提高人力资源管理效率,指导酒店特色项目的设计运作,提高酒店对外投资效率以及指导酒店的品牌创建。