Walsh, Janet (1989) Structural change and industrial decline : the case of British textiles. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the structure of international competition in the textile industry and the industry's development within the British context. The strategies of the three multinational corporations which dominate the British industry are analysed in detail. The method of investigation has involved an examination of both primary and secondary material on the industry. Two case studies of plant level restructuring were based on a series of interviews with management, trade union officials, and workplace union representatives at two of Courtaulds' textile plants.

The analysis of the industry raises several problems with the existing theoretical literature. These concern the lack of a developed, integrated perspective on international structural change and uneven development, and, in particular, the manner in which analytical categories are elaborated to mediate between these different levels of analysis. The thesis demonstrates that the complex dynamics of restructuring and sectoral decline can only be understood in terms of a matrix of international structural forces, and a national configuration of social and economic relationships.

The first chapter introduces a range of theoretical perspectives on international structural change and industrial decline. Section A analyses the international dimensions of change in the industry and the complex social and economic forces underlying the process of internationalisation. Section B outlines the performance of British textiles and clothing since the 1970s, and discusses a number of competing explanations of the industry's long term decline and current development. Section C investigates the international activities of three British textile multinational corporations, their domestic strategies and the changing balance between their national and international interests. An examination of restructuring at two of Courtaulds' textile plants involves an analysis of the implications of industrial change for social relationships at workplace level

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Textile industry, Textile industry -- Great Britain, Competition, International, Industrial policy -- Great Britain, Structural adjustment (Economic policy) -- Great Britain
Official Date:	June 1989
Dates:	Date Event June 1989 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	School of Industrial & Business Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Nolan, Peter, 1949-
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	vii, 418 leaves
Language:	eng

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