Wilhelm CR, Chilla T (2023)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2023
Book Volume: 145
Article Number: 103828
DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103828
Contemporary crises have stimulated a new political and scientific interest in economic power structures and regionalisation. In particular, this concerns the local–global nexus, a key argument within the Global Production Networks (GPN) literature. This addresses the question of how global governance concepts help us understand regional production networks within multiscale production processes, mostly linked to transnational corporations. We contribute to this question with a focus on value creation and governance structures beyond, or ‘in the shade’ of, the often-prevailing dominance of transnational lead firms. Here, we present an analysis of value creation and governance in the Bavarian beer sector, building on comprehensive statistical data and expert interviews. The interpretation is based on a visual value creation mapping. We draw on three analytical dimensions from the GPN debate: corporate, institutional and collective power. The analysis shows that the local level can be a hub for multi-layered dynamics in value creation and governance. We find strong local lead firms, which succeed in linking global dynamics and protecting local networks. In this process of segmentation some local firms build a strong regional network that is economically rather independent from larger firms. Institutional governance plays an important role, and regional assets such as education facilities or cultivation contexts come into play. Our results indicate that the ‘local’ might be a stronger part of the local–global nexus than often assumed.
APA:
Wilhelm, C.R., & Chilla, T. (2023). The regional dimension in GPN – Mapping value creation and governance of the Bavarian beer sector. Geoforum, 145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103828
MLA:
Wilhelm, Carola Rebecca, and Tobias Chilla. "The regional dimension in GPN – Mapping value creation and governance of the Bavarian beer sector." Geoforum 145 (2023).
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