Trans regional communities and external coupling a geographical perspective on regional development of the chaoshan region, china

TRANS-REGIONAL COMMUNITIES AND EXTERNAL COUPLING: A GEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHAOSHAN REGION, CHINA CHEN RUI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2012 TRANS-REGIONAL COMMUNITIES AND EXTERNAL COUPLING: A GEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHAOSHAN REGION, CHINA CHEN RUI B.A. and M.SSc. (Peking University) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2012 Acknowledgements I remain extremely thankful for this page to acknowledge the vital contributions of many that have impacted on this dissertation and my academic journey. It has been an unforgettable learning experience in Singapore that I will always cherish. I am grateful for the financial support that I have received from the National University of Singapore which has made my stay and research in Singapore and China possible. First of all, I extend my deepest thanks to my supervisor, Professor Henry Yeung, for his guidance, encouragement, and his faith in my work. I came to Singapore without any background of Geography. He has guided me into this journey, and always supported me to persist in the topic of Teochews that I was interested in, although it sounded not so “geographical” at the beginning. No words can express my appreciation and respect to him, a wonderful mentor in my life. The other members of my committee, A/P Godfrey Yeung and Dr Jun Zhang, have greatly contributed to my learning and writing process through their thoughtful comments, insightful critiques, and sound advice. I am particularly grateful for their time and effort in reading and commenting my dissertation, which used to be rather long-winded and discursive. I appreciate the input from Tracey Skelton, Natalie Oswin, T.C. Chang, Carl GrundyWarr, Pow Choon Piew, Maribeth Erb, Lily Kong, Harvey Neo, Karen Lai, who, at various points during my study in NUS, enhanced my academic capability, understanding of Geography, and reflection on my research. I also thank Pauline for her administrative support. Thanks to International Society of Chaozhou Studies and all my respondents who share their knowledge and insights with me. I especially thank those who utilized their own resources to help me extend the networks of interviewees, including Mr. Yang Ximing, Liu Yi, Chen Lin, Mr. Huang Zexiong, Uncle Chen, and Uncle Zhang Zhiren, to name just a few. My fellow post-graduates have offered me advice, friendship, and companionship, in particular: Jiajie, Liu Song, Rana, Menusha, Lina, Lishan, Xiankun, Kanchan, and Diganta. I am truly grateful to my friends Cuifen, who has been accompanying me from Beijing to Singapore in the past eight years, and never hesitated to give me her generous kindness; and Liu Yi, who has been working with me side by side during our Ph.D. candidatures, not only as my classmate, but also as my comrade. I feel extremely fortunate to have such a fabulous friend to study together and share our research and life. Finally, I would like to thank my family. Located on the other side of the globe, Yang Ming has put great effort to generate a relational proximity with me and to support me. I am particularly indebted to my parents, Chen Jinhao and Zhang Zhixiang, who have been offering me endless and unconditional love all these years.     i         This  page  is  left  blank  on  purpose.       Table of Contents Acknowledgements . i Summary . vi List of Figures . viii List of Tables . ix Abbreviations . x Chapter Introduction . 1.1 “Fifth Avenue style shows its origins”: global networks of Chaoshan commodities . 1.2 A trans-regional perspective on regional development 1.3 The Chaoshan region and the Teochew community 1.4 Organization of thesis . 15 Chapter Literature review of regional development: organizational, cognitive and socio-institutional approaches 18 2.1 Introduction . 18 2.2 Organizational approaches to regional development . 19 2.2.1 Intra-regional analysis: Marshallian districts and new industrial spaces . 20 2.2.2 Trans-regional processes: neo-Marshallian nodes and the diversification of industrial districts 23 2.3 Cognitive approaches to regional development 27 2.4 Socio-institutional approaches to regional development . 32 2.4.1 Sources of theoretical ideas: embeddedness, conventions, and the mode of social regulation 33 2.4.2 Intra-regional analysis: institutional arrangements and social norms 36 2.4.3 Trans-regional processes: governance, transnational communities, and strategic coupling with global production networks . 40 2.5 Concluding remarks: towards a multi-scalar analysis 45 Chapter External coupling in regional development 48 3.1 Introduction . 48 3.2 Reinterpreting external coupling from a multi-scalar perspective . 49 3.2.1 Theoretical background: endogenous assets and external coupling 50 3.2.2 A multi-scalar framework for analyzing external coupling . 55 3.2.3 Unpacking the mechanisms of external coupling 59   ii     3.3 Trans-regional communities and external coupling . 63 3.3.1 Community embeddedness of trans-regional business system 65 3.3.2 State institutions and trans-regional communities: the role of organizations 68 3.4 Propositions 72 3.5 Concluding remarks: trans-regional communities, external coupling, and regional development . 76 Chapter Methodology . 78 4.1 Introduction . 78 4.2 Negotiating the “field” of guanxi research 79 4.2.1 Conducting guanxi in a guanxi study . 79 4.2.2 Limited gatekeeping and snowballing in a guanxi-emphasized context 82 4.3 Stay open: reframing research in the field 85 4.4 Data collection 88 4.4.1 Document . 89 4.4.2 Observation 90 4.4.3 Interview 92 4.4.4 Questionnaire . 94 4.5 Ethics and positionality . 96 4.6 Concluding remarks: contextualizing methods in the field . 97 Chapter Economic development of the Chaoshan region . 99 5.1 Introduction . 99 5.2 Evolution of Chaoshan’s regional economy between 1980 and 2000 . 100 5.2.1 Taking off through overseas Teochews: 1980-1990 103 5.2.2 External coupling with international markets: 1991-2000 . 105 5.3 Hybrid external coupling: contemporary economic development of Chaoshan . 110 5.3.1 Emerging industrial clusters in the Chaoshan region 112 5.3.2 Hybrid external coupling: the global-domestic market . 116 5.4 Key industries in the Chaoshan region: ceramics, toys, and wedding and evening dresses . 119 5.4.1 Ceramics 121 5.4.2 Toys 123 5.4.3 Wedding and evening dresses 124 5.5 Concluding remarks: Teochew communities still matter? . 126 Chapter Transnational coupling of Chaoshan: changing roles of Teochew communities . 128 6.1 Introduction . 128 iii       6.2 Overseas Teochews and transnational coupling . 129 6.2.1 Overseas Teochews: initiating investment and promoting exports . 130 6.2.2 Declining significance of overseas Teochews . 135 6.3 New global-local bridges: alternatives to overseas Teochews . 140 6.3.1 Exhibitions as temporary clusters 141 6.3.2 Business websites as cyber clusters . 145 6.3.3 Cluster economies 146 6.4 Concluding remarks: changing role of transnational communities . 150 Chapter Trans-regional coupling of Chaoshan in China: continual roles of Teochew communities 153 7.1 Introduction . 153 7.2 Trans-regional Teochews in China and Chaoshan firms’ domestic business networks . 154 7.2.1 Marketing toys and ceramics: more than just exports . 156 7.2.2 Entering new markets through trans-regional Teochews . 161 7.2.3 Teochew distributors in Chaoshan firms’ domestic marketing networks 164 7.3 Teochew trans-regional communities and relational clusters in distant specialized markets . 169 7.3.1 Teochew communities within specialized markets 171 7.3.2 Connecting Chaoshan and its relational clusters in specialized markets . 175 7.4 Concluding remarks: trans-regional communities, relational clusters, and external coupling 178 Chapter External coupling sustained by institutions: Teochew associations and Chaoshan governments . 181 8.1 Introduction . 181 8.2 Teochew associations in China: building a trans-regional associational economy . 183 8.2.1 Institutionalizing Teochew communities within China . 184 8.2.2 Sustaining a trans-regional supportive institutional environment . 189 8.2.3 Collaboration among trans-regional community organizations, state institutions and local industrial associations 192 8.3 Overseas Teochew associations: mismatching the demand of Chaoshan’s external coupling 198 8.3.1 The evolution of overseas Teochew associations 199 8.3.2 Failure in supporting the external coupling of Chaoshan 202   iv     8.4 Concluding remarks: synchronizing firms, Teochew associations, and state institutions 207 Chapter Conclusion 210 9.1 Teochew communities and the external coupling of Chaoshan: summary of findings . 210 9.2 Policy implications: exploiting extra-regional relational assets 216 9.3 Looking back: an auto-critique 219 9.4 Looking forward: the future research agenda 222 References . 226     v       Summary This research derives from dissatisfaction with the analysis of regional development in the new regionalism literature and the global production networks (GPN) literature, which either lacks an extra-regional dimension or overemphasizes global-local connectivity. My thesis seeks to shed light on a trans-regional dimension of regional development by examining the case of the Chaoshan region in China and its Teochew communities that transcend regional boundaries. This research argues that regional development is a dynamic outcome of coupling between local firms and extra-regional actors within and outside a country, while transnational/trans-regional communities sustain this process in special historical and institutional contexts. Grounded in the GPN studies, this thesis further develops a trans-regional analytical framework on regional development, arguing for three mechanisms to explain the external coupling of a region: (1) trans-regional organization of production and marketing; (2) transregional communities; and (3) state institutions. This research identifies causal mechanisms of communities in facilitating external coupling: reducing information asymmetry, smoothing communication, and building trust. Meanwhile, local firms can take advantage of the organizational relations between community organizations and state institutions to enhance their external coupling process. In empirical levels, this thesis uses Chaoshan to illustrate the roles of transnational/trans-regional communities in external coupling from a multi-scalar perspective. Chaoshan is the common origin region of Teochews within and outside China, and exports and domestic sales of local firms both significantly contribute to the regional economy. This thesis has found that overseas Teochews triggered the Chaoshan economy in forms of facilitating foreign investment and exports during the early post-reform era. From the mid 1990s, overseas Teochews became less significant due to local institutional obstacles for foreign investment and alternative approaches to international markets for local firms. In   vi     contrast, domestic Teochews continued to sustain Chaoshan firms’ domestic marketing by enhancing market entry, sustaining flexible transactions, frequent communication, and mutual trust between local firms and their trans-regional business partners, and strongly connecting extra-regional specialized markets of Chaoshan products to the Chaoshan region. In this way, local firms benefited from the buzz and market advantages of distant specialized markets. These connections also helped foster the growth of local firms with the capability to couple within the domestic market. In addition, although overseas Teochew associations failed to significantly enhance Chaoshan’s external coupling, domestic Teochew associations provided organizational platforms for Chaoshan firms and governments to construct a supportive transregional institutional environment and a trans-regional associational economy for prompting the external coupling process. The case of Chaoshan demonstrates that not only global-local coupling but also transregional coupling within a country drives regional economic development, while both transnational and trans-regional communities facilitate the coupling process. As for key contributions, this thesis supplements a trans-regional dimension to the existing GPN framework on regional development, and further unpacks the mechanisms of transnational/trans-regional communities especially in an evolutionary perspective. Based on the empirical findings, this thesis finally proofers policy suggestions for regional development in terms of paying more attention to domestic markets and trans-regional communities rather than merely attracting foreign investment. vii       26, 103-119. Giblin, M. 2011: Managing the global-local dimensions of clusters and the role of "lead" organizations: the contrasting cases of the software and medical technology clusters in the west of Ireland. European Planning Studies 19, 23-42. Gold, T., Guthrie, D. and Wank, D., editors 2002: Social connections in China: institutions, culture, and the changing nature of Guanxi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Goodman, D., editor 2008: The new rich in China: future rulers, present lives. London: Routledge. Goodwin, M. 2001: Regulation as process: regulation theory and comparative urban and regional research. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment 16, 71-87. Granovetter, M. 1985: Economic-action and social-structure - the problem of embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology 91, 481-510. Hadjimichalis, C. 2006: Non-economic factors in economic geography and in 'new regionalism': a sympathetic critique. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 30, 690-704. Hamilton, G. 1996: Competition and organization: a reexamination of Chinese business practices. Journal of Asian Business 12, 7-20. Hay, C. 2002: Political analysis: a critical introduction. NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Hay, I. 2010: Qualitative research methods in human geography. Ontario: Oxford University Press. He, C.F. 2003: Entry mode and location of foreign manufacturing enterprises in China. Eurasian Geography and Economics 44, 443-461. Heimer, M. 2006: Field sites, research design and type of findings. In Heimer, M. and Thogersen, S., editors, Doing fieldwork in China, Copenhagen: NIAS Press, 58-80. Heimer, M. and Thogersen, S., editors 2006: Doing fieldwork in China. Copenhagen: NIAS Press. Henderson, J., Dicken, P., Hess, M., Coe, N. and Yeung, H.W.C. 2002: Global production networks and the analysis of economic development. Review of International Political   232     Economy 9, 436-464. Hendrischke, H. 2006: Corporate locality and translocality of private enterprises in China. In Oakes, T. and Schein, L., editors, Translocal China: linkages, identities, and the reimagining of space, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 93-108. Henry, N. 1992: The new industrial spaces - locational logic of a new production era. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 16, 375-396. Henry, N. and Pinch, S. 2001: Neo-Marshallian nodes, institutional thickness, and Britain's 'Motor Sport Valley': thick or thin? Environment and Planning A 33, 1169-1183. Hess, M. 2004: ‘Spatial’ relationships? Towards a reconceptualization of embeddedness. Progress in Human Geography 28, 165-186. Hollingsworth, J.R. 1991: The logic of coodinating American manufacturing sectors. In Campbell, J.L., Hollingsworth, J.R. and Lindberg, L., editors, The governance of the American economy, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 35-73. Hollingsworth, J.R. 1997: Continuities and changes in social systems of production: the cases of Japan, Germany, and the United States. In Hollingsworth, J.R. and Boyer, R., editors, Contemporary capitalism: the embeddedness of institutions Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 265-310. Hollingsworth, J.R. 2000: Doing institutional analysis: implications for the study of innovations. Review of International Political Economy 7, 595-644. Hollingsworth, J.R. and Boyer, R., editors 1997: Contemporary capitalism: the embeddedness of institutions. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. Hollingsworth, J.R., Hage, J. and Hanneman, R.A. 1990: State intervention in medical care: consequences for Britain, France, Sweden, and the United States, 1890-1970. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Hollingsworth, J.R. and Hanneman, R.A. 1982: Working-class power and the political economy of Western capitalist societies. Comparative Social Research, 61-80. Hollingsworth, J.R. and Lindberg, L. 1985: The governance of the American economy: the role of markets, clans, hierarchies, and associative behavior. In Streeck, W. and Schmitter, 233       P.C., editors, Private interest government: beyond market and state, London and Beverly Hills, Calif: Sage, 221-254. Hollingsworth, J.R., Schmitter, P.C. and Streeck, W., editors 1994: Governing capitalist economies: performance and control of economic sectors. New York: Oxford University Press. Hollingsworth, J.R. and Streeck, W. 1994: Countries and sectors: performance, convergence and competitiveness. In Hollingsworth, J.R., Schmitter, P.C. and Streeck, W., editors, Governing capitalist economies: performance and control of economic sectors, New York: Oxford University Press, 270-300. Hsing, Y. 1996: Blood, thicker than water: interpersonal relations and Taiwanese investment in Southern China. Environment and Planning A 28, 2241-2261. Hsing, Y. 1998: Making capitalism in China: the Taiwan connection. NY: Oxford University Press. Hsu, C.L. 2005: Capitalism without contracts versus capitalists without capitalism: Comparing the influence of Chinese guanxi and Russian blat on marketization. Communist and PostCommunist Studies 38, 309-327. Hsu, J.Y. and Cheng, L.L. 2002: Revisiting economic development in post-war Taiwan: The dynamic process of geographical industrialization. Regional Studies 36, 897-908. Hsu, J.Y. and Saxenian, A. 2000: The limits of guanxi capitalism: transnational collaboration between Taiwan and the USA. Environment and Planning A 32, 1991-2005. Huang, T. 2008: Chaoshang wenhua (The culture of Teochew business people). Beijing: SinoCulture Press. Hudson, R. 2008: Cultural political economy meets global production networks: a productive meeting? Journal of Economic Geography 8, 421-440. Hughes, A. 2005: Corporate strategy and the management of ethical trade: the case of the UK food and clothing retailers. Environment and Planning A 37, 1145-1163. Ibert, O. 2010: Relational distance: sociocultural and time - spatial tensions in innovation practices. Environment and Planning A 42, 187-204.   234     Ivarsson, I. and Alvstam, C.G. 2005: The effect of spatial proximity on technology transfer from TNCs to local suppliers in developing countries: The case of AB Volvo in Asia and Latin America. Economic Geography 81, 83-111. Jensen, C. 2004: Localized spillovers in the Polish food industry: The role of FDI in the development process? Regional Studies 38, 535-550. Jessop, B. 2001: Institutional re(turns) and the strategic-relational approach. Environment and Planning A 33, 1213-1235. Kalantaridis, C., Slava, S. and Sochka, K. 2003: Globalization processes in the clothing industry of Transcarpathia, Western Ukraine. Regional Studies 37, 173-186. Kali, R. 1999: Endogenous business networks. Journal of Law Economics & Organization 15, 615-636. Kelly, P.F. 2009: From global production networks to global reproduction networks: households, migration, and regional development in Cavite, the Philippines. Regional Studies 43, 449-461. Kelly, P.F. and Olds, K. 2007: Researching transnational networks. In Tickell, A., Sheppard, E., Peck, J. and Barnes, T., editors, Politics and practice in economic geography, LA: Sage, 255-266. Kenney, M. and Florida, R., editors 2004: Locating global advantage: industry dynamics in the international economy. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press. Kim, J.Y. and Zhang, L.Y. 2008: Formation of foreign direct investment clustering - a new path to local economic development? The case of Qingdao. Regional Studies 42, 265-280. Krugman, P.R. 1991: Geography and trade. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. Lagendijk, A. 2006: Learning from conceptual flow in regional studies: Framing present debates, unbracketing past debates. Regional Studies 40, 385-399. Lagendijk, A. 2007: The accident of the region: A strategic relational perspective on the construction of the region's significance. Regional Studies 41, 1193-1207. Larner, W. 2007: Expatriate experts and globalising governmentalities: the New Zealand diaspora strategy. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 32, 331-345. 235       Latour, B. 1999: Pandora's hope: essays on the reality of science studies. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Lazerson, M.H. 1988: Organizational growth of small firms - an outcome of markets and hierarchies. American Sociological Review 53, 330-342. Lee, Y.S. 2009: Balanced development in globalizing regional development? Unpacking the new regional policy of South Korea. Regional Studies 43, 353-367. Leung, C.K. 1993: Personal contacts, subcontracting linkages, and development in the HongKong-Zhujiang Delta Region. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 83, 272302. Leung, C.K. 1996: Foreign manufacturing investment and regional industrial growth in Guangdong Province, China. Environment and Planning A 28, 513-536. Li, M. 1995: dangdai haiwai huaren shetuan yanjiu (the study of contemporary overseas Chinese associations). Xiamen: Xiamen University Press. Lin, G.C.S. 1997: Red capitalism in South China: growth and development of the Pearl River Delta. Toronto: UBC Press. Lin, J. 2008: Chaoshang Shilue (The history of Teochew business people). Beijing: Huawen Chubanshe. Liu, H. 1998: Old linkages, new networks: The globalization of overseas Chinese voluntary associations and its implications. China Quarterly, 582-609. Liu, H. 1999: Bridges across the sea: Chinese social organizations in Southeast Asia and the links with Qiaoxiang, 1900-49. In Douw, L., Huang, C. and Godley, M.R., editors, Qiaoxiang ties: interdisciplinary approaches to cultural capitalism in South China, London: Kegan Paul International, 87-112. Liu, H. 2000: Globalization, institutionalization and the social foundation of Chinese business networks. In Yeung, H.W.C. and Olds, K., editors, Globalization of Chinese business firms, New York: St. Martin's Press, 105-125. Liu, W.D. and Dicken, P. 2006: Transnational corporations and 'obligated embeddedness': foreign direct investment in China's automobile industry. Environment and Planning A 38,   236     1229-1247. Lowe, N.J. 2009: Challenging tradition: unlocking new paths to regional industrial upgrading. Environment and Planning A 41, 128-145. Lu, L. and Wang, Z. 2008: Zhuanye shichang: difangxing shichang de yanjin (Specialized markets: evolution of localized markets). Shanghai: Truth and Wisdom Press; Shanghai People's Publishing House. Lu, L. and Wang, Z. 2010: China's specialized markets. Singapore: Cengage Learning Asia Pet Ltd. Lu, L.C. and Wei, Y.H.D. 2007: Domesticating globalisation, new economic spaces and regional polarisation in Guangdong Province, China. Tijdschrift Voor Economische En Sociale Geografie 98, 225-244. Lu, Y. 2008: NGOs in China: development dynamics and challenges. In Zheng, Y. and Fewsmith, J., editors, China's opening society: the non-state sector and governance, Oxon: Routledge, 89-105. MacKinnon, D., Cumbers, A. and Chapman, K. 2002: Learning, innovation and regional development: a critical appraisal of recent debates. Progress in Human Geography 26, 293311. Markusen, A. 1996: Sticky places in slippery space: a typology of industrial districts. Economic Geography 72, 293-313. Markusen, A. 1999: Fuzzy concepts, scanty evidence, policy distance: the case for rigour and policy relevance in critical regional studies. Regional Studies 33, 869-884. Markusen, A., Lee, Y.S. and Digiovanna, S., editors 1999: Second tier cities: rapid growth outside the metropole in Brazil, Korea, Japan and the United States. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Markusen, A. and Park, S.O. 1993: The state as industrial locator and district builder - the case of Changwon, South-Korea. Economic Geography 69, 157-181. Martin, R. 2000: Institutional approaches in economic geography. In Sheppard, E. and Barnes, T.J., editors, A companion to economic geography, MA: Blackwell, 77-94. 237       Maskell, P. and Malmberg, A. 1999: Localised learning and industrial competitiveness. Cambridge Journal of Economics 23, 167-185. Mason, J. 1996: Qualitative researching. London: SAGE Publications. Massey, D. 1979: In what sense a regional problem? Regional Studies 13, 233-243. McGuirk, P.M. and O'Neill, P. 2010: Using questionnaires in qualitative human geography In Hay, I., editor, Qualitative research methods in human geography, Ontario: Oxford University Press, 191-216. Meister, C. and Werker, C. 2004: Physical and organizational proximity in territorial innovation systems - Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Economic Geography 4, 1-2. Moodysson, J. 2008: Principles and practices of knowledge creation: on the organization of "buzz" and "pipelines" in life science communities. Economic Geography 84, 449-469. Morgan, G. 2001: Transnational communities and business systems. Global networks 1, 113130. Morgan, K. 1997: The learning region: institutions, innovation and regional renewal. Regional Studies 31, 491-503. Morgan, K. 2004: The exaggerated death of geography: learning, proximity and territorial innovation systems. Journal of Economic Geography 4, 3-21. Moser, S. 2008: Personality: a new positionality? Area 40, 383-392. Murphy, J.T. 2006: Building trust in economic space. Progress in Human Geography 30, 427450. Murray, F. 1987: Flexible specialization in the Third Italy. Capital and Class 33, 84-95. Nast, H.J. 1994: Women in the field - opening remarks. Professional Geographer 46, 54-66. Navas-Aleman, L. 2011: The impact of operating in multiple value chains for upgrading: the case of the Brazilian furniture and footwear industries. World development 39, 1386-1397. Neidik, B. and Gereffi, G. 2006: Explaining Turkey's emergence and sustained competitiveness as a full-package supplier of apparel. Environment and Planning A 38, 2285-2303.   238     Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. 1995: The knowledge creating company: how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. NY: Oxford University Press. North, D.C. 1990: Institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ohmae, K. 1995: The end of the nation state: the rise of regional economies. London: Harper Colins. Olds, K. and Yeung, H.W.C. 1998: (Re)shaping 'Chinese' business networks in a globalising era. Environment and Planning D 17, 535-555. Oman, C.P. 2000: Policy competition for foreign direct investment: a study of competition among governments to attract FDI: OECD Development Centre Studies. Park, S.O. 1996: Networks and embeddedness in the dynamic types of new industrial districts. Progress in Human Geography 20, 476-493. Patton, M.Q. 2002: Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications. Peck, J. 2002: Political economics of scale: Fast policy, interscalar relations, and neoliberal workfare. Economic Geography 78, 331-360. Peck, J. 2005: Economic sociologies in space. Economic Geography 81, 129-175. Perkmann, M. 2006: Extraregional linkages and the territorial embeddedness of multinational branch plants: Evidence from the South Tyrol region in northeast Italy. Economic Geography 82, 421-441. Phelps, N.A. 2007: Gaining from globalization? State extraterritoriality and domestic economic impacts - The case of Singapore. Economic Geography 83, 371-393. Piore, M. and Sabel, C.F. 1984: The second industrial divide: possibilities for prosperity. NY: Basic Book. Po, L.-h. and Pun, N. 2004: Making transborder governance: a case study of Taiwanese capital and Kunshan's institutional innovation. Chengshi yu Sheji (City and Design) 15, 59-91. Porter, M.E. 1998: The competitive advantage of nations: with a new introduction. New York: Free Press. 239       Powell, W.W. and DiMaggio, P.J., editors 1991: The new institutionalism in organizational analysis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Power, D. and Jansson, J. 2008: Cyclical clusters in global circuits: overlapping spaces in furniture trade fairs. Economic Geography 84, 423-448. Pratt, G. 2000: Research performances. Environment and Planning D-Society & Space 18, 639-651. Qiu, Y. 2005: Personal networks, institutional involvement, and foreign direct investment flows into China's interior. Economic Geography 81, 261-281. Rao, Z., editor 1965: Chaozhou Zhi Huibian (Collections of Chaozhou Records). Hong Kong: Longmen Shudian. Redding, S.G. 1990: The spirit of Chinese capitalism. Berlin; New York: de Gruyter. Redding, S.G. 2000: What is Chinese about Chinese family business? And how much is family and how much is business? In Yeung, H.W.C. and Olds, K., editors, Globalization of Chinese business firms, London: Macmillan Press, 31-54. Rodriguez-Pose, A. and Storper, M. 2006: Better rules or stronger communities? On the social foundations of institutional change and its economic effects. Economic Geography 82, 125. Rose, G. 1997: Situating knowledges: positionality, reflexivities and other tactics. Progress in Human Geography 21, 305-320. Russo, M. 1985: Technical change and the industrial district - the role of interfirm relations in the growth and transformation of ceramic tile production in Italy. Research Policy 14, 329343. Sabel, C. 1994: Learning by monitoring: the institutions of economic development. In Smelser, N. and Swedberge, R., editors, The handbook of economic sociology, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 137-165. Sajarattanochote, S. and Poon, J.P.H. 2009: Multinationals, geographical spillovers, and regional development in Thailand. Regional Studies 43, 479-494. Salais, R. and Storper, M. 1997: Worlds of production: the action frameworks fo the economy.   240     MA: Harvard University Press. Salmon, P. 1992: Achieving a PhD: ten students' experiences. Staffordshire: Trentham Books. Saxenian, A. 1994: Regional advantage: culture and competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128. MA: Harvard University Press. Saxenian, A. 1999: Silicon Valley's new immigrant entrepreneurs. San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California. Saxenian, A. 2002: Transnational communities and the evolution of global production networks: the case of Taiwan, China and India. Industry and innovation 9, 183-202. Saxenian, A. and Hsu, J.Y. 2001: The Silicon Valley-Hsinchu connection: technical commnities and industrial upgrading. Industrial and Corporate Change 10, 893-920. Saxenian, A. and Sabel, C. 2008: Venture capital in the "periphery": the new argonauts, global search, and local institution building. Economic Geography 84, 379-394. Sayer, A.R. 2010: Method in social science: a realistl approach. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Schoenberger, E. 1988: From fordism to flexible accumulation: technology, competitive strategies, and international location. Environment and Planning D 6, 245-262. Schuldt, N. and Bathelt, H. 2011: International trade fairs and global buzz. Part II: practices of global buzz. European Planning Studies 19, 1-22. Scott, A.J. 1988a: New industrial spaces: flexible production organization and regional development in North America and Western Europe. London: Pion. Scott, A.J. 1988b: Flexible production systems and regional-development: the rise of new industrial spaces in North-America and Western-Europe. International Journal Urban and Regional Research 12, 171-186. Scott, A.J. 1992: The collective order of flexible production agglomerations - lessons for local economic-development policy and strategic choice. Economic Geography 68, 219-233. Scott, A.J. 1998: Regions and the world economy: the coming shape of global production, competition, and political order. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Scott, A.J. and Garofoli, G., editors 2007a: Development on the ground. Oxon: Routledge. Scott, A.J. and Garofoli, G. 2007b: The regional question in economic development. In Scott, 241       A.J. and Garofoli, G., editors, Development on the ground, Oxon: Routledge, 3-23. Scott, A.J. and Storper, M. 2003: Regions, globalization, development. Regional Studies 37, 579-593. Sforzi, F. 2003: Local development in the experience of Italian industrial districts. In Becattini, G., Bellandi, M., Ottati, G.D. and Sforzi, F., editors, From industrial districts to local development: an itinerary of research, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 157-183. Shen, J. and Wei, C. 2011: Huanjing guanzhi yingxiangxia de Foshanshi taoci chanye jiqun fazhan moshi yanjiu (Studying the developmental pattern of Foshan ceramic industrial cluster under environmental regulations). Tropical Geography 31, 304-309. Shurmer-Smith, P. 2002: Doing cultural geography. London: Sage. Skinner, G.W., editor 1979: The study of Chinese society: essays. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press. Smart, J. and Smart, A. 1991: Personal relations and divergent economies: a case study of Hong Kong investment in South China. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 15, 216-233. Storper, M. 1995: The resurgence of regional economies, ten years later: the region as a nexus of untraded interdependencies. European Urban and Regional Studies 2, 191-221. Storper, M. 1997: The regional world: territorial development in a global economy. NY: The Guilford Press. Storper, M. and Scott, A., editors 1992: Pathways to industrialization and regional development. London: Routledge. Storper, M. and Venables, A.J. 2003: Buzz: face-to-face contact and the urban economy. DRUID Summer Conference, Copenhagen, DENMARK, 351-370. Storper, M. and Walker, R.A. 1989: The capitalist imperative: territory, technology and industrial growth. NY: Basil Blackwell. Sum, N.-L. 2004: From 'integral state' to 'integral world economic order': towards a neoGramscian cultural international political economy. Cultural political economy working paper No.7, Lancaster: Institute for Advanced Studies in Social and Management Sciences,   242     University of Lancaster. Tan, C. and Yeung, H.W.C. 2000a: The internationalization of Singaporean firms into China: entry modes and investment strategies. In Yeung, H.W.C. and Olds, K., editors, Globalization of Chinese business firms, London: Macmillan Press, 220-240. Tan, C.Z. and Yeung, H.W.C. 2000b: The regionalization of Chinese business networks: A study of Singaporean firms in Hainan, China. Professional Geographer 52, 437-454. Temple, B. and Young, A. 2004: Qualitative research and translation dilemma. Qualitative research 4, 161-178. Tewari, M. 2006: Adjustment in India's textile and apparel industry: reworking historical legacies in a post-MFA world. Environment and Planning A 38, 2325-2344. Tickell, A. and Peck, A. 1992: Accumulation, regulation and the geographies of post-Fordism: missing links in regulationist research. Progress in Human Geography 16, 190-218. Tickell, A., Sheppard, E., Peck, J. and Barnes, T., editors 2007: Politics and practice in economic geography. LA: Sage. Tong, C.K. and Yong, P.K. 1998: Guanxi bases, Xinyong and Chinese business networks. British Journal of Sociology 49, 75-96. Tong, J. 1999: Qianlun Wenhua Beijing Yu Yinjin Huaiqiao Huaren Ziben -- Yi Fuqing Shi Xiyin Haiwai Xiangqin Touzi Weili (Cultural background and attracting overseas Chinese investment -- a case study of Fuqing City). In Yang, X., editor, Gaige Kaifang Yu Fujian Huaqiao Huaren (Economic Reform and overseas Fujian Chinese), Xiamen: Xiamen University Press, 85-98. Torre, A. and Rallett, A. 2005: Proximity and localization. Regional Studies 39, 47-59. Trippl, M., Todtling, F. and Lengauer, L. 2009: Knowledge sourcing beyond buzz and pipelines: evidence from the Vienna software sector. Economic Geography 85, 443-462. Unger, J. and Chan, A. 2008: Associations in a bind: the emergence of political corporatism. In Unger, J., editor, Associations and the Chinese State: contested spaces, Armond, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 48-68. Van Grunsven, L. and Smakman, F. 2005: Industrial restructuring and early industry pathways 243       in the Asian first-generation NICs: the Singapore garment industry. Environment and Planning A 37, 657-680. Wade, R. 1987: The management of common property resources: finding a cooperative solution. World bank research observer 2, 219-234. Wade, R. 1990: Governing the market: economic theory and the role of government in East Asian industrialization. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Wang, G. 2003: China and the Chinese overseas. Singapore: Eastern Universities Press. Wang, J.H. and Lee, C.K. 2007: Global production networks and local institution building: the development of the information-technology industry in Suzhou, China. Environment and Planning A 39, 1873-1888. Wank, D.L. 1999: Commodifying communism: business, trust, and politics in a Chinese city. Cambridge; NY: Cambridge University Press. Watson, A. 2008: Civil society in a transitional state: the rise of associations in China. In Unger, J., editor, Associations and the Chinese State: contested spaces, Armond, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 14-67. Wei, Y.H.D. and Leung, C.K. 2005: Development zones, foreign investment, and global city formation in Shanghai. Growth and Change 36, 16-40. Wei, Y.H.D., Li, W.M. and Wang, C.B. 2007: Restructuring industrial districts, scaling up regional development: A study of the Wenzhou model, China. Economic Geography 83, 421-444. Wei, Y.H.D., Lu, Y.Q. and Chen, W. 2009: Globalizing regional development in Sunan, China: does Suzhou Industrial Park fit a neo-Marshallian district model? Regional Studies 43, 409-427. Weiss, L., editor 2003: States in the global economy: bringing domestic institutions back in. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wood, A. and Valler, D., editors 2004: Governing local and regional economies: institutions, politics and economic development. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Wu, Z. 2006: Jujiao Baijie Guangjiaohui (Focusing on 100th Canton Fair). Keji Zhinang   244     (Think Tank) 11, 28-43. Xin, K.R. and Pearce, J.L. 1996: Guanxi: Connections as substitutes for formal institutional support. Academy of Management Journal 39, 1641-1658. Yang, C. 2006: Overseas Chinese investments in transition: The case of Dongguan. Eurasian Geography and Economics 47, 604-621. Yang, C. 2007: Divergent hybrid capitalisms in China: Hong Kong and Taiwanese electronics clusters in Dongguan. Economic Geography 83, 395-420. Yang, C. 2009: Strategic coupling of regional development in global production networks: redistribution of Taiwanese personal computer investment from the Pearl River Delta to the Yangtze River Delta, China. Regional Studies 43, 385-407. Yang, C. 2011: From exports to domestic market: dynamic production networks, institutional transition and regional transformation in post-reform China. The International Workshop on 'Value Chains, Production Networks, and the Geographies of Development: Emerging Challenges and Future Agenda', National University of Singapore. Yang, C. and Liao, H.F. 2010: Backward linkages of cross-border production networks of Taiwanese PC investment in the Pearl River Delta, China. Tijdschrift Voor Economische En Sociale Geografie 101, 199-217. Yang, D.Y.R., Hsu, J.Y. and Ching, C.H. 2009: Revisiting the Silicon Island? The geographically varied 'strategic coupling' in the development of high-technology parks in Taiwan. Regional Studies 43, 369-384. Yang, M.M.H. 1994: Gift, favors, and banquets: the art of social relationships in China. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Yang, Y.R. and Hsia, C.J. 2007: Spatial clustering and organizational dynamics of transborder production networks: a case study of Taiwanese information-technology companies in the Greater Suzhou Area, China. Environment and Planning A 39, 1346-1363. Yeoh, B.S.A. and Chang, T.C. 2001: Globalising Singapore: Debating transnational flows in the city. Urban Studies 38, 1025-1044. Yeung, G. 2009a: How banks in China make lending decisions. Journal of Contemporary 245       China 18, 285-302. Yeung, H.W.C. 1997: Business networks and transnational corporations: a study of Hong Kong firms in the ASEAN region. Economic Geography 73, 1-25. Yeung, H.W.C. 1998: Transnational economic synergy and business networks: The case of two-way investment between Malaysia and Singapore. Regional Studies 32, 687-706. Yeung, H.W.C. 2000: Embedding foreign affiliates in transnational business networks: the case of Hong Kong firms in Southeast Asia. Environment and Planning A 32, 201-222. Yeung, H.W.C. 2003: Practicing new economic geographies: A methodological examination. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 93, 442-462. Yeung, H.W.C. 2005: Rethinking relational economic geography. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 30, 37-51. Yeung, H.W.C. 2006: Innovating for global competition: Singapore's pathway to high-tech development. In Lundvall, B.A., Intarakumnerd, P. and Vang, J., editors, Asian innovation systems in Transition, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 257-292. Yeung, H.W.C. 2009b: Regional development and the competitive dynamics of global production networks: an East Asian perspective. Regional Studies 43, 325-351. Yeung, H.W.C. and Lin, G.C.S. 2003: Theorizing economic geographies of Asia. Economic Geography 79, 107-128. Yeung, H.W.C. and Olds, K. 2000: Globalization of Chinese business firms. In Yeung, H.W.C. and Olds, K., editors, Globalizing Chinese business firms: where are they coming from, where are they heading, London: MacMillan Press, 1-30. Zeller, C. 2004: North Atlantic innovative relations of Swiss pharmaceuticals and the proximities with regional biotech arenas. Economic Geography 80, 83-111. Zhang, J. 2008: Marketization and democracy in China. Oxon: Abingdon: Routledge. Zhou, Y. 2000: Bridging the continents: the roles of Los Angeles Chinese producer services in the globalization of Chinese business. In Yeung, H.W.C. and Olds, K., editors, Globalization of Chinese business firms, London: MacMillan Press, 167-194. Zhou, Y. 2005: The making of an innovative region from a centrally planned economy:   246     institutional evolution in Zhongguancun Science Park in Beijing. Environment and Planning A 37, 1113-1134. 247     [...]... organizations, transnational communities, and state institutions By understanding regional development as a trans- regional interactive process, this thesis is situated in the above debate on regional economic development in the globalization era In particular, my research contributes an important and novel dimension to understanding regional development in globalization within a trans- regional framework:... of transnational /trans- regional communities and local economic actors, and to uncover some critical and grounded insights on regional economic growth Regional development results from dynamic interactions of economic, social, and institutional actors within and outside regional territorial boundaries The trajectory of regional development may be conditioned by transnational /trans- regional communities, ... and relational perspective, this thesis interprets regional development through a multi-scalar framework It focuses on the relations of transnational /trans- regional communities and a region’s external economic activities by using the case of the Chaoshan region and Teochew communities 1.2 A trans- regional perspective on regional development In recent years there has been a resurgence of research interest... transnational and trans- regional communities within a country in   6     regional development, particularly in terms of the external economic transactions of regional firms In doing so, I demonstrate different mechanisms of transnational /trans- regional communities in facilitating regional firms’ external coupling activities: (1) reducing information asymmetry; (2) enhancing trans- regional communication; and. .. as a coupling process, this framework takes into account the organization of production and marketing, trans- regional communities, and state institutions in a region’s external coupling Local firms’ external coupling is realized through their trans- regional organization of production and marketing With a research focus on trans- regional communities, this chapter unpacks their mechanisms of facilitating... of transnational /trans- regional communities and state institutions with regards to local firms’ external coupling activities Teochew associations within China offered a platform for local firms to benefit from non-local assets and to smooth their trans- regional transactions Furthermore, these associations cooperated with local industrial associations and governments to build up a trans- regional associational... local firms’ connections with the extra -regional economic world It is thus central to this thesis to elaborate on the mechanisms of transnational /trans- regional communities, based on the common region of origin, in facilitating local firms’ external connectivity and in regional development processes Here, I am not arguing that transnational /trans- regional communities should be considered as a necessary... highlighted a strong institutional presence crucial for regional collaborative networks and hence regional development Trans- regional community organizations on the one hand serve as an organizational channel for regional firms to deal with external business issues; and on the other hand cooperate with regional institutions to conduct collective actions that enhance the coupling process In light of Cooke and. .. Morgan’s (1998) view on an associational economy, these community organizations cooperate with local institutions and build up a trans- regional associational economy for regional development Hence, regional development is dependent on local actors’ interactions with external ones During this coupling process, trans- regional communities offer relational proximity for local actors and their non-local partners... for the contemporary economy of Chaoshan If the answer is yes, then the case of Chaoshan helps further the understanding of regional development facilitated by non-local communities If not, unpacking the reasons and changes provides rethinking of the role of these communities in regional development Third, the case of Chaoshan offers both international and domestic dimensions with regards to external . on the relations of transnational /trans- regional communities and a region’s external economic activities by using the case of the Chaoshan region and Teochew communities. 1.2 A trans- regional. between regional and extra -regional actors, conditioned by the organization of production and marketing, transnational /trans- regional communities, and state institutions. Adding the domestic. interactions of economic, social, and institutional actors within and outside regional territorial boundaries. The trajectory of regional development may be conditioned by transnational /trans- regional