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Global competition, institutional context and regional production networks: up- and downgrading experiences in Romania’s apparel industry

Author

Listed:
  • Leonhard Plank
  • Cornelia Staritz

Abstract

Global competition, trade policy and national institutional context are reconfiguring the role of regional apparel suppliers. By studying the development of Romania’s apparel industry, the paper highlights two conceptual points that are increasingly discussed in the chain/network literature: first, the importance of multi-scalar institutional contexts and state policies that influence industry and firm dynamics and are, in turn, shaped by private capital interests and second, the existence of diverse and uneven up- and downgrading trajectories and of re-active adaptation, rather than intentional firm-level strategies, with important implications for regional development.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonhard Plank & Cornelia Staritz, 2015. "Global competition, institutional context and regional production networks: up- and downgrading experiences in Romania’s apparel industry," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 8(3), pages 421-438.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cjrecs:v:8:y:2015:i:3:p:421-438.
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Adrian Smith & John Pickles & Milan Bucek & Rudolf Pástor & Bob Begg, 2014. "The political economy of global production networks: regional industrial change and differential upgrading in the East European clothing industry," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(6), pages 1023-1051.
    2. repec:wbk:wbpubs:2547 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Leonhard Plank & Cornelia Staritz, 2013. "‘Precarious upgrading’ in electronics global production networks in Central and Eastern Europe: the cases of Hungary and Romania," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series ctg-2013-31, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    4. repec:wbk:wbpubs:2509 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Denis Eylem Yoruk, 2001. "Patterns of Industrial Upgrading in the Clothing Industry in Poland and Romania," UCL SSEES Economics and Business working paper series 19, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES).
    6. Marius Bota & Carmen Gut, 2007. "The Employment Situation In Sme In The Romanian Textile And Clothing Industry," JOURNAL STUDIA UNIVERSITATIS BABES-BOLYAI NEGOTIA, Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Business.
    7. Plank, Leonhard & Staritz, Cornelia, 2013. ""Precarious upgrading" in electronics global production networks in Central and Eastern Europe: The cases of Hungary and Romania," Working Papers 41, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE).
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    Cited by:

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    2. Sun, Yajie & Liao, Wen-Chi, 2021. "Resource-Exhausted City Transition to continue industrial development," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    3. Lechowski, Grzegorz, 2019. "Beyond "dependent development" in a high-tech industry? The interplay between domestic institutions and transnational sectoral governance in the trajectories of emerging Polish IT firms [Über die "abhängige Entwicklung" hinaus?," Discussion Papers, Research Group Globalization, Work, and Production SP III 2018-302r, WZB Berlin Social Science Center, revised 2019.
    4. Nikolaus Hammer, 2023. "Searching for institutions: upgrading, private compliance, and due diligence in European apparel value chains," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 29(3), pages 371-386, August.
    5. Moe, Signe Louise, 2021. "Governing production, shaping legislation? Apparel and automotive sector governance and firm representation in European Commission Expert Groups," ÖFSE-Forum, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE), volume 77, number 77.
    6. John Pickles & Leonhard Plank & Cornelia Staritz & Amy Glasmeier, 2015. "Trade policy and regionalisms in global clothing production networks," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 8(3), pages 381-402.
    7. Carlo Pietrobelli & Cornelia Staritz, 2018. "Upgrading, Interactive Learning, and Innovation Systems in Value Chain Interventions," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(3), pages 557-574, July.
    8. Eduardo Hernandez-Rodriguez & Ron Boschma & Andrea Morrison & Xianjia Ye, 2023. "Functional upgrading and downgrading in global value chains: Evidence from EU regions using a relatedness/complexity framework," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2316, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jul 2023.
    9. Choksy, Umair Shafi & Kurt, Yusuf & Gölgeci, Ismail & Khan, Zaheer & Shamim, Saqib & Jawad, Maaha, 2025. "Resilience of GVC suppliers in politically unstable regions: The roles of governance and trust," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(6).
    10. Yoruk, Deniz E., 2019. "Dynamics of firm-level upgrading and the role of learning in networks in emerging markets," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 341-369.
    11. Grillitsch, Markus & Nilsen, Trond, 2024. "Varieties of extra-regional relations and local agency: A Framework for tailored regional development work," Papers in Innovation Studies 2024/19, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    12. Scuotto, Veronica & Garcia-Perez, Alexeis & Nespoli, Chiara & Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio, 2020. "A repositioning organizational knowledge dynamics by functional upgrading and downgrading strategy in global value chain," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(4).
    13. Crispian Fuller & Nicholas A Phelps, 2018. "Revisiting the multinational enterprise in global production networks," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 139-161.
    14. Jensen, Federico & Whitfield, Lindsay, 2022. "Leveraging participation in apparel global supply chains through green industrialization strategies: Implications for low-income countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    15. Miruna PATRICHE, 2021. "Smart consumption behavior? An approach related to fast fashion industry," Smart Cities International Conference (SCIC) Proceedings, Smart-EDU Hub, Faculty of Public Administration, National University of Political Studies & Public Administration, vol. 9, pages 379-392, November.
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    17. Eduardo Hernandez-Rodriguez & Ron Boschma & Andrea Morrison & Xianjia Ye, 2024. "Functional upgrading and downgrading in global value chains: The role of complementary interregional value chain linkages in EU regions," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2432, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Oct 2024.
    18. Noemi Sinkovics & Umair Shafi Choksy & Rudolf R. Sinkovics & Ram Mudambi, 2019. "Knowledge Connectivity in an Adverse Context: Global Value Chains and Pakistani Offshore Service Providers," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 131-170, February.
    19. Lechowski, Grzegorz, 2018. "Beyond "dependent development" in a high-tech industry? The interplay between domestic institutions and transnational sectoral governance in the trajectories of emerging Polish IT firms," Discussion Papers, Research Group Globalization, Work, and Production SP III 2018-302, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    20. Mike Morris & Leonhard Plank & Cornelia Staritz, 2016. "Regionalism, end markets and ownership matter: Shifting dynamics in the apparel export industry in Sub Saharan Africa," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 48(7), pages 1244-1265, July.

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