Production Networks in Asia: A Case Study from the Hard Disk Drive Industry

Production networks have been extensively developed in East Asia. Previous studies on production networks used international trade data or input-output tables, but such aggregate data cannot explain how the networks actually operate. With the aim of understanding the features and characteristics of East Asian production networks, this paper examines the procurement system of a HDD assembler operating in Thailand. This micro-level case study found that this particular production network consists mostly of arm's-length suppliers, who are independent and on an equal footing with the assembler. These arm's-length suppliers are mostly located in the assembling country, but some are located in neighboring countries. This proximity is necessary to establish good relationships between customer and suppliers and allows problems to be solved as soon as they occur. The arm's-length suppliers engaged in each country's leading industries, such as the electronics industry in Malaysia and Singapore and the automobile industry in Thailand, have extended their business to supply the HDD industry. These suppliers have formed an industrial cluster in each country within a two- or three-hour drive area. Each cluster that spans different countries is linked by a well-developed logistic network that employs the just-in-time production method that prevails in East Asia. On a regional level, these separate clusters tend to form international production networks that connect to each other across neighboring countries within a distance that provides a quick response time for problem solving. This study also found that American HDD assemblers outsourced indigenous suppliers in Malaysia and Singapore because American suppliers did not follow the assemblers' move to the region. However, since Japanese suppliers did follow the Japanese HDD assemblers to the Philippines and Thailand, indigenous suppliers were not outsourced

Managing (Un)certainty in the Japanese Antique Art Trade - How Economic and Social Factors Shape a Market

Market actors are commonly faced with solving three distinct coordination problems as sources of uncertainty. How should they value the objects of their trade, how can they shield themselves from the competition, and with whom and how do they cooperate? This article investigates how Japanese antique art dealers confront these issues. While offering a rich description and analysis of a hitherto understudied Japanese market, the article shows how economic and social issues are closely intertwined. It contributes to our understanding of behaviour in a Japanese market in three ways: Firstly, it underscores how inclusion/exclusion, status, reputation, networks and hierarchies constitute a field that allows market exchanges to exist in the first place, while also channelling, and being impacted by these market exchanges. Secondly, contrary to neoclassical economic theory, where the idea of value has largely been abandoned, the findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between notions of value and price in the understanding of markets. Thirdly, the article shows how market actors actively shape market arrangements to address the specific challenges of their domain. In the case of the Japanese antique art market these challenges include high risks of fakes, a limited quantity of high quality material, market outsiders, and dealers with deep pockets

Funcionalização do Polipropileno com Viniltrietoxisilano em Solução e no Estado Fundido Polypropylene functionalization with vinyltrietho-xysilane in solution and in melt state

RESUMO: Polipropileno (PP) foi funcionalizado com viniltrietoxisilano (VTES) em solução e no estado fundido, utilizando peróxidos como iniciadores. A influência da concentração de silano e de peróxido sobre o grau de funcionalização foi avaliada por Espectrometria no Infravermelho com Transformada de Fourier (FTIR). As reações feitas no estado fundido resultaram em produtos com maior grau de funcionalização. Medidas de torque e determinações de peso molecular por Cromatografia de Permeação em Gel (GPC) demonstraram a ocorrência de reações de quebra de cadeia em todos os sistemas, porém mais acentuadamente nas reações feitas no estado fundido.<br>ABSTRACT: This work reports a study about the functionalization of polypropylene (PP) with vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) in solution and in melt state, using dibenzoylperoxide (DBP) and dicumylperoxide (DCP) as free radical sources. The influence of silane and peroxide concentrations on the degree of functionalization was followed by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR). Reactions performed in the melt state showed to be more effective in accomplishing functionalization. Torque measurements and molecular weight determinations, by Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), showed that chain scission was always present, and it was more pronounced in the melt state reactions