ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with the cross-border business relationships that are at the heart of the global economy. It explores the roles of trust-based relationships versus enforceable contracts, the role of 'market makers' who broker cluster-based production into international markets, and impact of trade regulation and protectionism. The book discusses how the phase-out and abolition of the Multifibre Arrangement led to new economic configurations in the textile and garment industry. It investigates cross border relationships between businesses, and relational governance in the international package tourist industry that links Germany and Jordan. The book provides very clear analysis of cluster dynamics in the face of global economic pressures related to an element of the automotive industry in northwest Ohio. It argues that in a largely market-driven governance environment and under globalising conditions, the regulation of Auckland's economy is primarily discursive rather than regulatory and interventionist.
