Technology and Global Industry Companies and Nations in the World Economy (1987) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 1-15
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From page 1... ...
economy is no longer singularly important In He world economy. The United States is now only one element, albeit still a large one, in an increasingly global economy.
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From page 2... ...
It is not clear whether tile appropriate unit of analysis is a highly discrete invention and its subsequent ramificanons, a particular product line, or a whole industry. The answer is probably all of the above; Specular technological advances may be considered as nested in a larger technological system, which in turn can be viewed as an element of a cluster of related technologies constituting an entire industry.
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From page 3... ...
Lehnerd's example also suggests that a heavy investment in in-place facilities for manufacturing a mature product becomes a barrier both to product innovat~on and to He Introduction of more advanced low-cost production processes, especially when the mature product line appears to be still doing well in He market. In the case described by Lehnerd, this was exactly He lime when a radical redesign of an existing product line and its associated manufacturing process proved essential to the competitive position of He firm.
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From page 4... ...
As reflected also in He chapter by Doz (and in He chapter by Henry Ergas later In He volume) , He tomexclusi~re emphasis of public policy in bow Europe and the United States on R&D and technological prowess as the principal remedies for lagging competitiveness may be misplaced; without appropriate complementa~y assets and capacities that allow a nation to capture returns from innovation, national technological superiority is of little economic consequence.
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From page 5... ...
~ his analysis Doz points out Cat trends In new technology pelt enormous flexibility and diversity in Be way global entetpnses are actuaBy managed. Finns win widely dispersed facilities tightly integrated in a global strategy exist side by side win firms having single production sites geared to serving dispersed markets or specialized market niches Mat are spread globally.
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From page 6... ...
The chapter by Qua also raises the question of whether national success In services can replace manufacturing as He engine of national ecohome progress and ~nternadonal comped~veness, much as manufacnning had replaced a~cul~re and resource industries as a source of growth and employment in an earlier penod. As illustrated in Quinn's chapter, many service industries" medical care, transportation, con~nunications' and banking, for example-are technologically dynamic and crucial to national economic performance.
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From page 7... ...
If that is indeed the case, then a vital manufacn~nng sector may be a necessary prerequisite for service Infuse development and hence for national economic health. Manufacturing competiiiveness may in its turn be critically dependent on Be efficiency and cost of He services locally available to manufacturing plants services essential to the smooth functioning of tightly integrated manufac~nng and distribution systems.
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From page 8... ...
One measure of competitiveness may be tile average level of real wages that labor can command in a Even counoy (and the potential for filulre grown of this level) , but it can be argued Eat measures such as employment grown, technological capability, productivity grown, or corporate profitability are better proxies for what is meant by competitiveness.
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From page 9... ...
Three chapters in this volume by Raymond Vemon, Henry Ergas, and Lewis M Branscomb-deal extensively with national economic development policies.
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From page 10... ...
Tile Crust of Ergas's argument is that venous strategies are open to countnes, or to businesses within countries, based on where Hey choose to seek competitive advantage In He product or technology cycle. ~ Ergas's assessment, the United States, France, and He United Kingdom have chosen (if such an active word can be applied to a set of policies that have evolved in a fairly decentralized manner)
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From page 11... ...
In a global economy, the autonomy and importance of muldnaiional corporations can restrict die ability of national governments to catty out independent economic and social policies within Weir boundaries. Therefore, an ongoing important international policy question is: What mecha~iisms will allow a group of nominally independent sovereign nabonstates working with a parallel group of nominally autonomous trans
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From page 12... ...
This has important implications for the policies of nations and companies in relation to political constituencies; a stable system of governance for He international economy cannot long accommodate to severe adverse economic effects on individual nations or influential constituencies within nations. hn particular, effective social policy-temporary assistance to disadvantaged groups, for example may help to mitigate constituency resistance to change and afford national negotiators a freer hand in representing truly national rather than vocal parochial interests.
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From page 13... ...
Lehnerd's example from the Black & Decker Company seems to be the exception rather Han the rule. Although, as mentioned above, Here is little agreement on He specific characteristics of He technological life cycle and the level of aggregation of economic activity to which it is relevant, the loosely defined notions of a technological trajectory or product life cycle have proved useful in dividing technological advance into stages that can be linked to made patterns, economic structure, and national technological strategies in the global economy.
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From page 14... ...
The principles of relatively unrestricted world ~ camed out most often Trough multinational firms and benefiting consumers and in many cases the firms' managers and shareholders-conflict with the legitimate interests of important producer and other interest groups u ithin nations. Wide increasing giobalizabon of economic activity, bilatem1 and multilateral negotiations over trade and foreign investment practices already an important aspect of national foreign policy-will be increasingly important components of national domestic economic and social policy.
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From page 15... ...
13~9 in U.S. Competitiveness ~ the World Economy, B
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