[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v38y2006i12p2305-2324.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Upgrading, Changing Competitive Pressures, and Diverse Practices in the East and Central European Apparel Industry

Author

Listed:
  • John Pickles

    (Department of Geography, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3220, USA)

  • Adrian Smith

    (Department of Geography, Queen Mary, University of London, London E1 4NS, England)

  • Milan BucÄ›k

    (Department of Public Administration and Regional Development, University of Economics, 852 35 Bratislava, Slovakia)

  • Poli Roukova

    (Institute of Geography, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria)

  • Robert Begg

    (Department of Geography and Regional Planning, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA 15705, USA)

Abstract
After a period in the 1990s of rapid integration into the production and trade networks of the European Union (EU) (and to a lesser extent of the United States), clothing manufacturers in East and Central Europe have had to adjust quickly to the changing costs of production with EU accession, the rise of Chinese exports, and the 1 January 2005 final phaseout of quantitative quotas into major markets. In this paper we focus on the changing competitive pressures on clothing producers in the region and on the diversity of adjustments currently being made in response to these changes. In particular, we detail the wide range of adjustment strategies being adopted by firms in Slovakia and Bulgaria, and show how interregional price competition, downgrading, and geographical shifts in patterns of sourcing and production are articulated with imperatives to regionalized production for major markets, stabilization of supply networks, industrial upgrading, and the expansion of localized sourcing and domestic-marketing strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • John Pickles & Adrian Smith & Milan BucÄ›k & Poli Roukova & Robert Begg, 2006. "Upgrading, Changing Competitive Pressures, and Diverse Practices in the East and Central European Apparel Industry," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(12), pages 2305-2324, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:38:y:2006:i:12:p:2305-2324
    DOI: 10.1068/a38259
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/a38259
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1068/a38259?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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).
    2. Frederick H Abernathy & Anthony Volpe & David Weil, 2006. "The Future of the Apparel and Textile Industries: Prospects and Choices for Public and Private Actors," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(12), pages 2207-2232, December.
    3. Adrian Smith, 1998. "Reconstructing the Regional Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1322.
    4. Christos Kalantaridis & S. Slava & K. Sochka, 2003. "Globalization Processes in the Clothing Industry of Transcarpathia, Western Ukraine," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 173-186.
    5. Ann Markusen, 1996. "Sticky Places in Slippery Space: A Typology of Industrial Districts," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 72(3), pages 293-313, July.
    6. Julie Pellegrin, 2001. "The Political Economy of Competitiveness in an Enlarged Europe," Studies in Economic Transition, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-23678-3, June.
    7. Gereffi, Gary, 1999. "International trade and industrial upgrading in the apparel commodity chain," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 37-70, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stephanie Barrientos & Gary Gereffi & Arianna Rossi, 2012. "Economic and Social Upgrading in Global Production Networks: Developing a Framework for Analysis," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series ctg-2010-03, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    2. 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.
    3. Jennifer Bair & Marion Werner, 2011. "The Place of Disarticulations: Global Commodity Production in La Laguna, Mexico," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 43(5), pages 998-1015, May.
    4. Miroslav Šipikal & Milan Buček, 2018. "The Role of FDI in Regional Innovation and Its Influence on the Emergence of Knowledge Spillover Effects," Advances in Spatial Science, in: Jan Stejskal & Petr Hajek & Oto Hudec (ed.), Knowledge Spillovers in Regional Innovation Systems, pages 195-218, Springer.
    5. Giuseppe Tattara & Paolo Crestanello, 2008. "Da impresa radicata nel territorio a rete globale. La ristrutturazione del gruppo Benetton," ECONOMIA E SOCIET? REGIONALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2008(3).
    6. Richard Croucher & Claudio Morrison, 2012. "Management, Worker Responses, and an Enterprise Trade Union in Transition," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51, pages 583-604, April.
    7. Jiangjiang Kang & Chuankai Yang & Yuemin Ning, 2023. "Analysis of Regional Division of Labor in Value Chain Patterns and Driving Factors in the Yangtze River Delta Region Using the Electronic Information Manufacturing Industry as an Example," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-18, September.
    8. Pipkin, Seth & Fuentes, Alberto, 2017. "Spurred to Upgrade: A Review of Triggers and Consequences of Industrial Upgrading in the Global Value Chain Literature," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 536-554.
    9. Vliegenthart, Arjan, 2007. "Regulating employee representation in postsocialist supervisory boards," SEER Journal for Labour and Social Affairs in Eastern Europe, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 10(4), pages 67-82.
    10. Plank, Leonhard & Staritz, Cornelia, 2014. "Global competition, institutional context, and regional production networks: Up- and downgrading experiences in Romania's apparel industry," Working Papers 50, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE).
    11. Jan Stejskal & Petr Hajek & Oto Hudec (ed.), 2018. "Knowledge Spillovers in Regional Innovation Systems," Advances in Spatial Science, Springer, number 978-3-319-67029-4.
    12. Choksy, Umair Shafi & Ayaz, Muhammad & Al-Tabbaa, Omar & Parast, Mahour, 2022. "Supplier resilience under the COVID-19 crisis in apparel global value chain (GVC): The role of GVC governance and supplier’s upgrading," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 249-267.
    13. Jiří Blažek & Viktor Květoň & Simon Baumgartinger-Seiringer & Michaela Trippl, 2019. "The dark side of regional industrial path development: towards a typology of trajectories of decline," PEGIS geo-disc-2019_08, Institute for Economic Geography and GIScience, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    14. Curran, Louise & Zignago, Soledad, 2012. "EU enlargement and the evolution of European production networks," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 240-257.
    15. 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.
    16. Navas-Alemán, Lizbeth, 2011. "The Impact of Operating in Multiple Value Chains for Upgrading: The Case of the Brazilian Furniture and Footwear Industries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1386-1397, August.
    17. Lindsay Whitfield & Cornelia Staritz, 2021. "Local supplier firms in Madagascar’s apparel export industry: Upgrading paths, transnational social relations and regional production networks," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(4), pages 763-784, June.
    18. Mahmudul Hasan Fouji & Imranul Hoque, 2021. "Supplier Internationalization Through Upgrading in Global Supply Chain: Evidence from the Garments Industry of Bangladesh," International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 116-129, December.
    19. 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.
    20. Ulrich Ermann, 2011. "Consumer Capitalism and Brand Fetishism: The Case of Fashion Brands in Bulgaria," Chapters, in: Andy Pike (ed.), Brands and Branding Geographies, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    21. Daniel Schiller & Martijn J Burger & Bas Karreman, 2015. "The Functional and Sectoral Division of Labour between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta: From Complementarities in Production to Competition in Producer Services?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 47(1), pages 188-208, January.
    22. Alexandre Berthe & Pascal Grouiez, 2020. "Small Farm Upgrading in GVC: a Strategic Perspective," Working Papers halshs-02953123, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jennifer Bair, 2006. "Regional Trade and Production Blocs in a Global Industry: Towards a Comparative Framework for Research," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(12), pages 2233-2252, December.
    2. Bob Begg & John Pickles & Adrian Smith, 2003. "Cutting It: European Integration, Trade Regimes, and the Reconfiguration of East–Central European Apparel Production," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 35(12), pages 2191-2207, December.
    3. Roberta Rabellotti & Alessia Amighini, 2003. "The effect of globalisation on industrial districts in Italy: evidence from the footwear sector," ERSA conference papers ersa03p500, European Regional Science Association.
    4. Plank, Leonhard & Rossi, Arianna & Staritz, Cornelia, 2012. "Workers and social upgrading in "fast fashion": The case of the apparel industry in Morocco and Romania," Working Papers 33, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE).
    5. Matias Ramirez & Ian Clarke & Laurens Klerkx, 2018. "Analysing intermediary organisations and their influence on upgrading in emerging agricultural clusters," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(6), pages 1314-1335, September.
    6. Slavo Radosevic, 2003. "The emerging industrial architecture of the wider Europe: The co-evolution of industrial and political structures," UCL SSEES Economics and Business working paper series 29, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES).
    7. Patsy Perry & Steve Wood & John Fernie, 2015. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Garment Sourcing Networks: Factory Management Perspectives on Ethical Trade in Sri Lanka," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 737-752, September.
    8. Nicholas A. Phelps & Miguel Atienza & Martin Arias, 2015. "Encore for the Enclave: The Changing Nature of the Industry Enclave with Illustrations from the Mining Industry in Chile," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 91(2), pages 119-146, April.
    9. You-Ren Yang & Chu-Joe Hsia, 2007. "Spatial Clustering and Organizational Dynamics of Transborder Production Networks: A Case Study of Taiwanese Information-Technology Companies in the Greater Suzhou Area, China," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 39(6), pages 1346-1363, June.
    10. Ram Mudambi & Lee Li & Xufei Ma & Shige Makino & Gongming Qian & Ron Boschma, 2018. "Zoom in, zoom out: Geographic scale and multinational activity," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(8), pages 929-941, October.
    11. Pla-Barber, José & Puig, Francisco, 2009. "Is the influence of the industrial district on international activities being eroded by globalization?: Evidence from a traditional manufacturing industry," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 435-445, October.
    12. Linqing Liu & Shiye Mei, 2016. "Visualizing the GVC research: a co-occurrence network based bibliometric analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(2), pages 953-977, November.
    13. John Pickles, 2006. "Trade Liberalization, Industrial Upgrading, and Regionalization in the Global Clothing Industry," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(12), pages 2201-2206, December.
    14. Grumiller, Jan & Raza, Werner G. & Staritz, Cornelia & Tröster, Bernhard & von Arnim, Rudi & Grohs, Hannes, 2018. "The economic and social effects of the EU Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with Tunisia," Research Reports 9/2018, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE).
    15. Lindsay Whitfield & Cornelia Staritz, 2021. "Local supplier firms in Madagascar’s apparel export industry: Upgrading paths, transnational social relations and regional production networks," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(4), pages 763-784, June.
    16. Giulio Buciuni & Gary Pisano, 2018. "Knowledge integrators and the survival of manufacturing clusters," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(5), pages 1069-1089.
    17. Prema-chandra Athukorala & Raveen Ekanayake, 2014. "Repositioning in the Global Apparel Value Chain in the Post-MFA Era: Strategic Issues and Evidence from Sri Lanka," Departmental Working Papers 2014-17, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.
    18. Emanuele Bacchiocchi & Massimo Florio & Anna Giunta, 2012. "Internationalisation and the agglomeration effect in the global value chain: the case of Italian automotive suppliers," International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(3), pages 267-290.
    19. Xiaofei Chen & Enru Wang & Changhong Miao & Lili Ji & Shaoqi Pan, 2020. "Industrial Clusters as Drivers of Sustainable Regional Economic Development? An Analysis of an Automotive Cluster from the Perspective of Firms’ Role," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-22, April.
    20. Pipkin, Seth, 2011. "Local Means in Value Chain Ends: Dynamics of Product and Social Upgrading in Apparel Manufacturing in Guatemala and Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 2119-2131.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:38:y:2006:i:12:p:2305-2324. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.