The firm/territory relationships in the globalisation: towards a new rationale

Abstract

Abstract. -The aim of this paper is the presentation of an approach of firms-territories relationships in terms of firms' nomadism and territorial anchorage of technological and industrial activities. Such an approach is founded on the necessity to overcome the "volatile" firm's level of analysis, in which firm's mobility is investigated from the sole point of view of the leaven location. On the contrary, it should be relevant to focus on the firm's dynamics through its connections with the whole set of territories and to conceive the firm-territory relation as a result of the dialectic confrontation of the respectively concerned firm and territory both dynamics, both trajectories. Hence we are led to characterise the localised industrial unit as placed at the crossroad of a triple link: with a firm (or a group), with an industry and with a territory. Such a threefold coupling relies on proximity's effects, alternately from organisational and geographical nature, whose conjunction generates territorial anchoring and leads to the notion of productive encounter, in the sense of a capacity to formulate and give solutions to productive issues, within the context of firm-territory relationship. In terms of formal models, research works are at the very first step. Nevertheless, an approach in terms of "small worlds" seems to present very fruitful perspectives. We develop the foundations of such an approach and expose how it can provide a good framework to explain territorial anchorage and, more widely, the strength of clusters. A concrete illustration is extensively developed about SGS-Thomson Microelectronics group with regard to its productive site in Rousset, in the French Bouches-du-Rhône district.Classification Codes: L23, L63, O18, R3, R58.

Toward a More Embedded Production System? Automotive Supply Networks and Localized Capabilities in Poland

“…The territorial (geographic) embeddedness of TNCs is a popular concept in the study of the relationship between large firms and the local (national) economy (Dicken 2007; Dicken and Malmberg 2001; Phelps 2000; Zimmermann 2002). Foreign affiliates, in addition to being rooted internally within their parent companies, become embedded within specific territories in various ways.…”

The Ambivalent Role of Mimetic Behavior in Proximity Dynamics: Evidence from the French ‘Silicon Sentier’

“…Nevertheless, we are convincing that innovation, growth and performance are not totally and exclusively affected by geographical proximity. Following Simmie (2003) and Zimmermann (2001), the key features of performance of clusters is also in the intensity of interactions outside clusters, and we have to invest this question in upcoming researches.…”

Comprendre l’ancrage territorial d’une bio-industrie : le cas de la grappe biopharmaceutique de la région de Montréal (Canada)

“…Comme lʼécrit Sierra (1997, p. 10), il sʼagit de ne plus traiter le territoire comme un « espace neutre, un réceptacle de technologies définies de façon exogène, mais comme un "vecteur" indissociable de leur émergence et de leur développement », idiosyncratique et historiquement construit (Colletis, Gilly et Pecqueur, 2001 ;Bartholomey, 1997). Didactiquement, toutes ces réflexions convergent pour reconnaître les grappes industrielles et les milieux locaux ou encore les territoires, comme de véritables tremplins stratégiques (« influençant la compétition » selon les termes de Porter [1998, p. 9]) qui accélèrent la performance des entreprises qui y sont « ancrées » (Zimmermann, 2001), plus ou moins durablement.…”