A new industry in an older industrial region: Skills, technology and linkages

Outline

It has been suggested that recent organisational change centred on functional integration, outsourcing and upskilling has raised prospects of economic development in peripheral regions. This paper examines the character of a new industry in an older industrial region for signs of such upgrading and increased local embeddedness. The paper discusses recent organisational change in the South Wales automotive component industry. Despite some organisational innovation, the main elements of the branch plant syndrome remain apparent in the South Wales automotive components industry.