The Geography of International Strategic Alliances in the Telecommunications Industry: The Cases of Cable and Wireless, Ericsson, and Fujitsu

Abstract

It is argued that the emerging spatial organisation of three telecommunications and computer firms can only be fully understood by reference to changing market and competitive contexts, and not by analysis of the forces of production alone. Strategic alliances are seen as an attempt by capital to cope with turbulent market conditions brought about by technical and regulatory change—and are part of a wider corporate and industrial restructuring process that is both attendant upon, and a stimulus to, this changing basis for competition.

Surviving the Era of Deindustrialization: The New Economic Geography of the Urban Rust Belt

“…Surprisingly, corporations, or large, private companies are likely catalysts of positive change in medium‐sized cities. While large companies are much maligned for deindustrialization and its negative impacts, Whitford () has shown how they have transformed suppliers by forcing them to take on increasingly difficult and sophisticated production responsibilities. He argues that this process has happened within spatial boundaries.…”

“…Flexible specialization is characterized by small, networked manufacturers; a highly skilled labor force; the use of general purpose technologies in production; and a singular focus on a high-quality, specialized good (Best, 1990;Piore & Sabel, 1984;Sabel & Zeitlin, 1985). Flexibly specialized economies are remarkably resilient, as producers in such systems are quick to respond to changes in market conditions and remarkably innovative (see Howells, 1992;Wells & Cooke, 1991;Zeitlin & Totterdill, 1989).…”

Crossing Borders: Media Management Research in a Transnational Market Environment

“…As Parker (1996) found with international business research as a whole, the transnational media management research analyzed in this project was grounded in a wide range of conceptual approaches. Historical (Donahue, 1987), psychological (West, 1993), and even geographic (Wells & Cooke, 1991) frameworks also were found, as were various other perspectives. Historical (Donahue, 1987), psychological (West, 1993), and even geographic (Wells & Cooke, 1991) frameworks also were found, as were various other perspectives.…”

“…Only one study focused specifically on the magazine industry (Hollifield, 1998), and a second focused on a range of print media corporations (Lent, 1987). Finally, studies 138 HOLLIFIELD examining management issues in the transnational recording industry (Negus, 1993) and the computer/telecom services industry (Wells & Cooke, 1991) also were found.…”

European foreign direct investment and local development: The case of the automotive sector

“…Trans-national economic linkages may take many forms from commodity trade, subcontracting and components supply to greenfield investment, financial flows, flexible alliance structures including licences, and acquisition (see Dicken, 1991;Wells and Cooke, 1991 LOCAL practices and labour relations -certainly an important consid-ECONOMY eration in the case of Bosch outlined below. Acquisitions do not bring these benefits, though there are countervailing factors such as accessing technology and markets, as well as the simple expansion of productive capacity held by the firm.…”