Suchergebnisse

Compliance with international standards is now a sine qua non for entry into globalized production networks. Developing country firms and farms are confronted by an array of distinct product and process standards that they must meet. This has heightened the competitive challenges they face. Non-compliance can result in exclusion from profitable markets. This article uses the recent case of Nike's termination of sourcing of soccer balls from its lead supplier in Pakistan as a lens to analyse the relationship between standards and governance. The article addresses first the global governance implications associated with how standards are being shaped and implemented. Second, it considers how global standards affect the governance of value chain ties. Finally, in terms of questions for further research, it suggests the need to explore the relationship between standards and 'intra-firm' governance, in particular to assess outcomes for those engaged within the chains-namely local firms and their workers, and the social contexts in which global standards are imposed from the outside. © The Author (2008). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

One of Pakistan's rare examples of consistent export success has been the Sialkot stainless steel surgical instrument cluster. This cluster, consisting mainly of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), has as its main markets the United States and Western Europe. In recent years, access to these markets has become contingent on meeting international quality assurance standards. The hypothesis explored in this paper is that meeting such standards requires greater local cooperation, both among producers as well as between producers and their suppliers and subcontractors. The study draws on quantitative and qualitative data to examine how inter-firm ties, both vertical and horizontal, have changed. The evidence suggests that joint action has increased, but that there remain significant areas of collective failure. Thus, the quality assurance pressures mark a possible turning point for the cluster, raising questions as to whether local sources of competitiveness, captured in the collective efficiency concept, can continue to provide the basis for export success. It also leads directly to an evaluation of the cluster's growth trajectory.