Acta Geographica Sinica ›› 2011, Vol. 66 ›› Issue (10): 1343-1354.doi: 10.11821/xb201110005

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Restructuring the Cross-Border Production Networks of Taiwanese Investment in China: Relocation of Personal Computer Firms from Pearl River Delta to Yangtze River Delta

YANG Chun   

  1. Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
  • Received:2011-03-29 Revised:2011-07-12 Online:2011-10-20 Published:2011-10-20
  • Supported by:

    Research Grant Council, Hong Kong SAR Government, Public Policy Research, No. HKBU4023-PPR-09 and General Research Fund, No.HKBU457210

Abstract: From the perspective of strategic coupling of regional development in global production networks (GPN), this paper attempts to explore the dynamics and patterns of the redistribution of Taiwanese personal computer (PC) investment from the Pearl River Delta (PRD) to the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) in China since the early 2000s. Through in-depth firm-level interviews during the period of 2005 and 2007, as well as case studies, the study argues that the redistribution of Taiwanese investment in China is resulted from divergent strategic coupling between respective Taiwanese firms in the PRD and YRD and corresponding global lead firm counterparts in the GPNs fostered by different local institutional initiatives. The study further elucidates that regional development in the global economy has turned increasingly to trans-local dynamics, which has fundamental implications for regional studies and policy implications for local development.

Key words: global production networks, regional development, strategic coupling, Taiwanese investment, Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta