World City Network Research at a Theoretical Impasse: On the Need toRe‐Establish Qualitative Approaches to Understanding Agency in World City Networks

Abstract

From the late 1990s, the establishment of a new relational 'turn' in the study of world city connectedness in globalisation has run parallel to the wider relational turn occurring in economic geography. Early work, built firmly upon a qualitative approach to the collection and analyses of new intercity datasets, considered cities as being constituted by their relations with other cities. Subsequent research, however, would take a strong quantitative turn, best demonstrated through the articulation of the inter-locking world city network (ILWCN) 'model' for measuring relations between cities. In this paper, we develop a critique of research based around the ILWCN model, arguing that this 'top down' quantitative approach has now reached a theoretical impasse. To address this impasse, we argue for a move away from structural approaches in which the firm is the main unit of analysis, towards qualitative approaches in which individual agency and practice are afforded greater importance.

Cities As Networks within Networks of Cities: The Evolution of the City/Firm‐Duality in the World City Network, 2000–2010

“…the comparison between intercity and interfirm networks) may produce spurious results (van Wijk et al 2010). In addition, given our focus on methodological refinements to Taylor's (2001) IWCNM, our interpretations of the results have been restricted to conjecture: more substantive understandings, fuelled by qualitative research are therefore needed to realise the potential of such a refined methodological approach (Parnreiter 2014;Watson & Beaverstock 2014). Notes 1.…”

Transnational building practices: knowledge mobility and the inescapable market

“…This kind of agenda means understanding the manufacturing of movement of knowledge as infused with power and as primarily tailored to certain ends, most notably to enhance the capacity to sell products and accumulate capital. The significance of this is captured by recent suggestions, for instance in global city research, that studies need to go beyond quantifying approaches and substantiate claims about the management and control functions exercised in global cities (Parnreiter 2014;Watson and Beaverstock 2014).…”

Introduction: The Interlocking Network Model for Studying Urban Networks: Outline, Potential, Critiques, and Ways Forward

“…As we have noted in our overview of the main critiques, a reframing of INM research based on insights derived from advances in various qualitative literatures is probably overdue, and the papers by Jacobs (), Taylor (), Parnreiter (), and Watson and Beaverstock () spell out some of the possible contours of such a reframing.…”

“…In other words, whereas more than a decade ago the lack of data on the transnational, external relations of world cities was identified as ‘the Achilles heel’ of research on world cities (Taylor , p. 323, Beaverstock et al . , p. 43), today this ‘Achilles heel’ is made up in the model's ‘inability to account for agency’ (Watson & Beaverstock ).…”