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Abstract

What is happening to local production systems in Europe? Combining knowledge from case-study literature with original analyses of statistical data, this book presents an institutional analysis of specialized clusters of small and medium-sized enterprises in Britain, France, Germany and Italy, showing the considerable diversity of forms they take. Many modes of governance - certain forms of market, cooperation among themselves, joining associations, networking with larger firms located in the same area, or making use of local facilities provided by governmental or other external agencies - enable small firms to become part of local production systems. The international comparison shows that such patterns of governance can often be attributed to national differences. While the importance of local production systems is increasing, their most rapidly growing form - groups of small suppliers which depend on a major customer firm - may undermine their autonomous capacities in the future.