Post‐Reunification Restructuring and Corporate Re‐bundling in the Bitterfeld‐Wolfen Chemical Industry, East Germany

Abstract

While earlier research has shown that regional restructuring after reunification has led to broad de‐industrialization processes in eastern Germany's chemical industry, this article focuses on how re‐bundling processes at the corporate level have stimulated adjustments to the changing economic and political environment leading to a renewed regional development trajectory. The analysis is based on a conceptualization that assesses diachronic processes of rupture and re‐bundling by applying a bottom‐up perspective of how corporate adjustments and restructuring processes generate re‐bundling types that manifest themselves in broader regional re‐bundling scenarios. The empirical analysis focuses on a qualitative case study of Bitterfeld‐Wolfen, the eastern region with the largest chemical industry. The research provides evidence that, although new firm formation has remained weak and acquisitions of chemical multinationals have generated structures only tenuously embedded in the regional economy, modernization and re‐bundling process have contributed to a renewed, smaller yet stable, regional chemical industry. The analysis further shows that the associated processes depended on the roles of individual industrial leaders in the region, who acted as network builders, mobilized joint action and stimulated the development of a collective regional spirit.

Pengaruh Industri Pengolahan Unggulan Terhadap Pertumbuhan Sektor Industri Pengolahan Provinsi Sumatera Selatan

“…Subsektor Industri Kertas dan barang dari kertas, percetakan dan reproduksi media rekaman juga memiliki kontribusi besar terhadap pembentukan PDRB sektor industri pengolahan dengan menyumbang sebesar 4.217 miliar rupiah (BPS, 2021) Sementara itu, dalam penelitian Meliawati & Holik (2020) juga menjelaskan bahwa semenjak masa pandemi covid-19 terjadi kendala kekurangan pasokan obat pada industri kimia, farmasi dan obat tradisional yang disebabkan jumlah penutupan pabrik karena karantina, masalah logistik karena penutupan perbatasan, larangan ekspor, karantina dari negara pemasok bahan baku dan obat-obatan, peningkatan permintaan obat-obatan dan persediaan besar. Dalam hal ini peran pemerintah sangat diprioritaskan sesuai dengan penelitian Bathelt (2013) bahwa perkembangan industri kimia tergantung pada peran pemerintah dalam bertindak sebagai pembangun jaringan memobilisasi tindakan bersama dan merangsang pengembangan semangat regional kolektif.…”

Industrial specialization and economic performance: A case of Czech microregions

“…The post-1989 radical socio-economic transition from centrally planned economy towards a market-driven one has been a discontinuity that calls for specific contextualization. We use the concept of rupture and rebundling (Bathelt & Boggs 2003;Bathelt 2013) as probably the most relevant framework for dealing with the development paths of Central European regions. In accordance with the four rebundling scenarios identified by Bathelt (2013), we argue that the most common scenarios of economically well performing Czech microregions were the ongoing and radical rebundling (Bathelt 2013, 7).…”

“…We use the concept of rupture and rebundling (Bathelt & Boggs 2003;Bathelt 2013) as probably the most relevant framework for dealing with the development paths of Central European regions. In accordance with the four rebundling scenarios identified by Bathelt (2013), we argue that the most common scenarios of economically well performing Czech microregions were the ongoing and radical rebundling (Bathelt 2013, 7). The key to success was either FDI-driven upgrading 2 of local industries through coupling regional assets with the strategic needs of large foreign-owned TNCs (see MacKinnon 2012 for a very similar concept of strategic coupling) or FDI-driven transplantation of new technologies into the regions (see Martin & Sunley 2006 for scenarios of escaping regional lock-in).…”

Globalization and Institutional Change in Italian Industrial Districts

“…(i) If the institutional context in terms of practices, regulations, and policies remains largely the same, new learning patterns may apply to those firms that engage in restructuring but exclude other regional actors. 2 This may result in a progressive weakening of the regional learning platform and in a hollowingout process (Bathelt, 2009(Bathelt, , 2013, resulting in slow regional change, limited economic growth, or even stagnation. (ii) If radical changes are implemented within the institutional context by, for example, providing incentives for fundamental organizational shifts and introducing policies targeting new industries and start-up processes in new technology fields, the effects may be more promising, although the overall outcome may still be slow regional change and a bifurcation of the regional economic structure as traditional industries with persistent product and technology structures may be left behind.…”

“…Although such an extreme situation may not be typical, it can occur when, for instance, regional policies and industrial practices focus on the traditional industry structure and do not support the development of or shift to new technologies. The case of Barletta(Rosati, 2016), but also the chemical industry regions in East Germany(Bathelt, 2013) may illustrate such a scenario.…”