Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 3.3
The distribution of Honda plants in Japan.
Flexible specialization
A central aspect of the flexibility just described is that it links vertically, between
first-level producers of components, and second-level assemblers, sometimes
with an intermediate level between. Another kind of flexibility is that derived
from a more complex, more horizontal interfirm network of linkages, known as
flexible specialization. The arguments at its base, some of which are also
applicable to the previous kind of flexibility, are best made by Piore & Sabel
(1984) in their wide-ranging review of the economic history of manufacturing in
Europe.
They start from a basic critique of capitalist development similar to that of
Marx. Capitalism leads to recurring crises of production because of the growing
antagonism between capital and labour, which cannot be solved by negotiation.
Economies of scale, coming into effect with some force in the late
