Rethinking Regional Production Systems: A Theory of Plural Industrial Models

This article presents a conceptual model of regional production systems, with the “industrial model” serving as the primary analytical unit. Drawing on discussions in the fields of global industry studies and social theory, this conceptual model reimagines regions as active, complex systems within a rapidly changing global context. Industrial models are defined as meso-level “assemblages” of productive and socio-material practices, control nodes and spatial patterns. These industrial models are embedded in specific organizational structures within regional and macro-regional systems. Thus, the article presents a multi-level, nested ontology for the study of regional production systems. Regional systems are permeated by macro- and micro-mechanisms. The article emphasizes the competitive and contractual nature of industrial models as an important microfoundation of regional systems’ theory. This provides a basis for searching for specific mechanisms to develop regional production systems. The specific channels of communication within regional systems ensure the co-evolution of regional system participants and give rise to complex, cross-border “assemblages” and non-linear trajectories of regional economic development through the complex dynamics of nested systemic processes. The article criticizes various aspects of the Global Production Networks (GPN) approach, such as the abstract understanding of “territorial relational networks” and the shift in research focus to flagship Western “focal firms”, and proposes methodological counterbalances based on the plurality of industrial models, their uneven integration into the global economy and the potential for alternative, decentralised regional agency. Thus, the article proposes a compact, mechanistic model of regional production systems, capable of providing various statistical hypotheses for validation. The article puts forward initial suggestions for operationalisation of the proposed theory for further empirical testing and for researching the equilibria of regional production systems and ways of resolving conflicts within them. It also outlines prospects for future research.

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