Can the periphery achieve core? The case of the automobile components industry in Spain

Lampón, Jesús F. and Lago-Peñas, Santiago and Cabanelas, Pablo (2013): Can the periphery achieve core? The case of the automobile components industry in Spain.

Abstract

The paper analyses changes experienced by Spain, as a European Peripheral region, in the spatial concentration of value-added and high-skill activities, and generation of technology in the automobile components industry. The analysis of plants set up (investments) and relocated (divestments) by multinationals (MNEs) between 2001 and 2010 show that Spain is no longer a place for labour-intensive activities and standardized processes using simple technologies in comparison to other peripheral regions. However, the continuing majority presence of foreign-owned companies is limiting decision power for generating and transferring technology, concentrating it mainly in those which Spanish MNEs have specialised

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: production geography, relocation, automobile components industry, periphery, multinationals
• Subjects: F - International Economics > F2 - International Factor Movements and International Business > F20 - General; F - International Economics > F2 - International Factor Movements and International Business > F23 - Multinational Firms ; International Business; L - Industrial Organization > L2 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior > L23 - Organization of Production; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences ; Diffusion Processes

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