Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
tion to the internal transformation of the firm's structure and organization
as such. Finally, there are two other growing bodies of literature we must
consider. On the one hand there is the literature looking at industrial and
geographical clustering. On the other hand there is the literature looking
at the formation of networks as alternative modes of organizing inter-
national production, along with the new value-chain divisions of labour
implied by these international networks. Both of these literatures focus
primarily on the role and nature of
linkages
of both a spatial and a non-
spatial nature, and as such both literatures largely overlook the heteroge-
neity of firms and of the activities and functions that they carry out.
There are, of course, numerous exceptions to these generalizations
which we will try to identify and use as bridges between the different schol-
arly fields. However, our efforts here are aimed at providing the pieces of
the puzzle such that the picture hidden in the jigsaw will emerge. As such,
a
new
theory is not what we are looking for, nor is what we think is needed,
but rather the integration of existing theoretical strands that largely do
not talk to each other. We do not therefore aim to provide an exhaustive
review of what we know about multinational behaviour or locational pat-
terns or their links with innovation and growth. We leave that to the many
excellent existing publications on the different aspects of MNE which
have been sources of inspiration for the present work. Our aim is rather
to show that these important aspects of the real world need to be analysed
in conjunction, and we offer a guide as to how thinking on the spatial
dimension of the MNE phenomena could fruitfully evolve. What we want
to point out is that, by integrating different theoretical approaches, and
by addressing simultaneously different levels of analysis, it is possible to
identify the
linkages
between different types of
firms
and
activities
, and the
way these linkages are shaped on the one hand by geography and space,
on the other hand by innovation, technology and learning, and also by the
interactions between these different dimensions and phenomena.
The two-way relationship between multinational corporations and
geography will be the focal point here. We claim that geography is increas-
ingly important for MNEs, and in turn MNEs are progressively more
important for geography. The pivot on which this relationship turns is
the creation, diffusion and management of new knowledge. Our effort is
aimed at showing that such a bilateral and mediated relationship, which
in principle is valid for any kind of business or firm, is
particularly
valid
in the case of MNEs and
particularly
important now for MNEs. Mark
Casson has argued that 'the modern theory of the MNE has the poten-
tial to become a general theory of the enterprise in space, and as such, to
embrace theories of the multi-regional and multi-plant firm' (Casson 1987,
p. 1). We fully agree with Casson and, although what we present in this
