地理、网络与信任:金融危机背景下的生产网络演化

网络演化是演化经济地理学研究的重要内容和新近热点之一。在当前的理论探讨中主要强调路径依赖和惯例对网络演化的强化作用,对于信任这个关键要素缺乏深入探讨。本文通过深度访谈和问卷调查相结合的方法,对比金融危机前后广东省纺织服装行业生产网络的空间结构,揭示信任与生产网络演化之间的互动机制。研究发现:信任是维系生产网络稳定性的基本要素之一,信任的强弱程度主要受合作类型(市场关系)、地理接近(空间关系)和社会文化接近根植性(社会关系)等因素影响。金融危机作为一种负面外部冲击,重构了广东省服装行业的生产网络。在这个过程中,较强信任关系的网络连结(潮汕地区)得以保留,并在危机过后进一步强化;而部分较弱信任关系的网络连结(珠三角地区)发生断裂,且在经济回暖之后被潮汕地区的网络所取代。

Geography, networks and trust:The evolution of production networks in the context of global financial crisis

Network evolution is one of the key issues in recent studies of evolutionary economic geography.Current studies in this field mainly focus on path dependency and routines within networks,while the mechanism of dynamics of the network remains underdeveloped yet.Previous researches tend to ignore the importance of trust on network evolution.To take this step forward,this paper unpacks the role of trust in network evolution in textiles and garment industry in Guangdong.Particularly,the authors conduct a comparative study between the Pearl River Delta and Chaoshan region(eastern part of Guangdong)during the 2009global financial crisis based on in-depth interviews.The study finds out that trust is a primary variable in keeping ties between nodes in production networks.The degree of trust varies due to three critical factors:cooperation types(market relations),geographical proximity(spatial relations)and network embeddedness(social and cultural contexts).As an exogenous shock,the influence of the global financial crisis restructured the spatial structure of networks within Guangdong Province.During the restructuring process,ties with higher trust maintained such as networks in Chaoshan region,while lower trust tiers were disconnected such as networks in the Pearl River Delta.After the crisis,stronger ties in Chaoshan region were reinforced to replace some weak ties in Pearl River Delta.By doing so,Chaoshan region is playing a more important role in the global production networks of textile and garment industries.