Beyond the Relational Network: Fragmentation and the Organization of Production in the Global Economy.

This paper argues that the conventional indicators used to measure globalization obscure a critical and qualitatively novel dimension of social organization in the global economy, which is the fragmentation of production. After providing some indicators of the extent of spatial and organizational fragmentation within the manufacturing sector, we explain that fragmentation is largely occurring through the formation of cross-border inter-firm networks. Through a comparison of apparel, electronics, and auto production arrangements, we demonstrate the prevalence within each industry of inter-firm relationships that, to varying degrees, approximate Powell's well-known formulation of the network as "neither market nor hierarchy." However, we also emphasize 1) variation within the network form across these industries, especially with regard to geographic proximity and power asymmetry between lead firms and suppliers; and, 2) the degree to which the inter-firm relationships found in these industries depart from the relational network that has become the ideal-typical network in economic sociology. We conclude by suggesting that the relational network--exchange relations embedded in interpersonal ties between proximate actors--is only one of multiple governance structures compatible with the organizational form of the inter-firm network as found in the global economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]