ABSTRACT
What do we know about the dynamics of industry integration and their impact on economic convergence? This chapter considers how the issue has been addressed in the theoretical and empirical literature, highlighting the insights and limitations of existing approaches and emphasizing the need for a broader framework of analysis than is usually deployed to examine this question.We draw on literature on economic integration, trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), international business, growth and regionalism with the aim of identifying the most relevant approaches and theories for understanding the relationships between industry networks and growth. Our approach employs a broader range of variables influencing the formation of networks, including multinational corporation (MNC) strategies, central and east European (CEE) state actions, sectoral features and European Union (EU) policies. Mindful of the multiplicity of actors currently influencing the shaping of international production networks, we propose an ‘alignment of networks’ framework as the appropriate heuristic for analysing the industry integration issues of the wider Europe.
