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Factories or Warehouses? A Welsh Perspective on Japanese Transplant Manufacturing

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Author Info
Max Munday
Jon Morris
Barry Wilkinson

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Abstract

MUNDAY M., MORRIS J. and WILKINSON B. (1995) Factories or warehouses? A Welsh perspective on Japanese transplant manufacturing, Reg. Studies 29, 1--17. Critics of Japanese direct manufacturing investment have argued that the Japanese transplant manufacturing sector (TMS) represents an attempt to circumvent trade barriers rather than a genuine globalization of Japanese capital, and that host regions will find themselves with warehouses or low value-added final assembly plants rather than fully integrated manufacturing operations which will contribute significantly to the development of the local economy. This paper presents a detailed study of the economic impact of Japanese manufacturing in Wales, a region within the UK which has one of the highest concentrations of Japanese manufacturing investment in Europe. It finds that there are some problems with Japanese investment, but although Japanese companies do appear to operate their businesses in different ways to other inward investors, many of these are beneficial to the local economy and the 'warehouse thesis’ is rejected. Contrary to the warehouse thesis, Japanese manufacturers have contributed significant employment growth, a diversification of products and capital sources, and they have real demonstration effects. The relevance of these findings for the evaluation of other concentrations of Japanese manufacturing investment is explored. MUNDAY M., MORRIS J. et WILKINSON B. (1995) Des fabriques ou des entrepôts? Une perspective galloise de la fabrication japonaise transplantée, Reg. Studies 29, 1--17. Des critiques de l'investissement industriel direct japonais ont affirmé que le secteur des industries de fabrication transplantées japonaises représente une tentative de contourner les entraves au commerce plutôt qu'une véritable mondialisation du capital japonais, et que les régions d'accueil ne seront équipées que des entrepôts ou des établissements de montage à faible valeur ajoutée plutôt que des unités de production entièrement intégrées et qui contribueront sensiblement au développement de l'économie locale. Cet article présente une étude détaillée de l'impact économique de la fabrication japonaise au Pays de Galles, une principauté au sein du Royaume-Uni qui démontre une des concentrations les plus élevées de l'investissement industriel japonais en Europe. II s'avère que l'investissement japonais pose des problèmes, mais bien que les entreprises japonaises soient gérées de façon différente par rapport à d'autres investisseurs étrangers, beaucoup d'entre elles sont avantageuses pour l'économie locale et donc la thèse qui porte sur les développement des entrepôts est rejetée. Contrairement à la thèse sur le développement des entrepôts, les industriels japonais ont contribué considérablement à la croissance de l'emploi, à la diversification des produits et au capital, et ils font preuve des effets de démonstration réels. On examine la portée de ces conclusions pour ce qui est de l'évaluation des autres concentrations de l'investissement industriel japonais. MUNDAY M., MORRIS J. und WILKINSON B. (1995) Fabriken oder Lagerhäuser? Eine valisiche Ansicht über japanische Einbauproduktion, Reg. Studies 29, 1--17. Kritische Stimmen zu japanischen Investierungen in Direktfertigung behaupten, daß der japanische Sektor der Fertigung mittels Transplantaten (TMS) weniger eine echte Globalisierung japanischen Kapitals darstelle als einen Versuch, handelsschranken zu umgehen, und daß Gastgeberländer anstelle vollintegrierter herstellungsprozesse, die bedeutsam zur Entwicklung der Wirtschaft am Orte beitragen, Lagerhäuser oder nur geringen Wert beisteuernde Endfertigungswerkstätten vorfänden. Dieser Aufsatz legt eine ins Einzelne gehende Studie der wirtschaftlichen Auswirkung der japanischen Fertigungsindustrie in Wales vor, einem Für-stentum im Verband des Vereinigten Königreichs, das eine der größten Konzentrationem japanischer Industrieinvestierungen in Europa aufweist. Es wird festgestellt, daß bei japanischen Investierungen Probleme auftreten, doch daß, obschon die Geschäftsführung japanischer Firmen in manchem von der anderer, vom Ausland hereinfliessender Investierungen abweicht, viele der örtlichen Industrie zu Gute kommen; die These vom Lagerhaus wird zurückgewiesen. Im Gegensatz zur Lagerhausthese haben japanische Hersteller bedeutsame Beiträge zur Schaffung von Arbeitsplätzen wie zur Diversifikation von Produkten und Kapitalquellen geleistet, und echte Demonstrationserfolge zu verzeichnen. Die Bedeutsamkeit dieser Befunde für die Bewertung anderer Konzentrationen japanischer Investierungen in der herstellenden Industrie wird untersucht.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Taylor and Francis Journals in its journal Regional Studies.

Volume (Year): 29 (2005)
Issue (Month): 1 (April)
Pages: 1-17
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Handle: RePEc:taf:regstd:v:29:y:2005:i:1:p:1-17

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Related research
Keywords: Japanese manufacturing; Foreign direct investment; Wales; Regional economy;

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Masaaki Kotabe & Janet Y Murray, 1990. "Linking Product and Process Innovations and Modes of International Sourcing in Global Competition: A Case of Foreign Multinational Firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 383-408, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. N. A. Phelps, 1993. "Branch Plants and the Evolving Spatial Division of Labour: A Study of Material Linkage Change in the Northern Region of England," Regional Studies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 87-101, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Masaaki Kotabe & Glenn S Omura, 1989. "Sourcing Strategies of European and Japanese Multinationals: A Comparison," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 113-130, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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