Global competition in mature industries. Upgrading through manufacturing

Mature industries in developed countries have been experiencing profound changes in the last few decades. Production of inputs and commodity goods has been increasingly outsourced to emerging countries’ low-wage suppliers, thus nurturing an unprecedented process of ‘global shifts’. Departing from the acknowledgment of this fast-changing scenario, we raised the question of whether manufacturing can still foster upgrading in Western economies. While the analysis of industrial statistics confirmed that the production of standardized products has been largely relocated overseas, the development of a number of case studies in the furniture industry outlined that the manufacture of sophisticated, customized goods keeps its roots locally. By using the global value chains (GVCs) approach, we found that in-house or in-cluster control over sourcing and operations represent a strategic activity in the upgrading trajectory that furniture firms are actually pursuing. Accordingly, we claim that manufacturing can still play a vital role in mature industries and pave the path for a next pattern of sustainable development in knowledge economies.