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ID: 147540

Local government entrepreneurship and global competitiveness: a case study of Yiwu market in China / Xun, Wu; Ramesh, M ; Howlett, Michael ; Qingyang, Gu

Qingyang, Gu	Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract

While it is widely agreed that local governments played a critical role in infrastructure building and industrial development in China—the key factors in its “economic miracle”—the relationship between local government entrepreneurship and the development of specialised markets through which products made in China are marketed to buyers worldwide is however not well understood. This article focuses on the rapid evolution of what is now the world’s largest wholesale market—the Yiwu Wholesale Market for Consumer Goods (Yiwu Market) in Zhejiang province—and the key role played by local government at different junctures in its formation, development and continual upgrading. The fact that a global commerce hub such as Yiwu Market arose in an area with no discernible natural competitive advantage indicates that many prevailing theories on competitive advantage in locational decision-making may have overlooked the central role local governments played in catalysing local economic development. This analysis underlines the fact that local government entrepreneurship can be a major source of competitive advantage for firms.

Key Words

China ; Case Study ; Global Competitiveness ; Local Government Entrepreneurship ; Yiwu Market

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ID: 190447

Politics of military procurement: the F-35 purchasing process in Canada and Australia Compared / Howlett, Alexander; Migone, Andrea Riccardo; Howlett, Michael

Howlett, Michael	Journal Article
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The willingness of defence departments to select the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) for their fifth-generation multirole fighter has frequently been analyzed as stemming from the close historical connections allies such as Japan or Canada have with the United States. However, such an approach glosses over or ignores the operation of military procurement processes which are more idiosyncratic and subject to many pushes and pulls from different actors and directions. This article compares the experiences of Australia and Canada in procuring the JSF. Both countries are British Commonwealth members, with a long history of supporting western, and in particular, US alliances. But while Australia has secured its F-35 procurement and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has already received its F-35s, Canada has only recently overcome a lengthy F-35 procurement battle that remains mired in controversy and will not deliver to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) an aircraft for several years yet. This comparative case study between Australian and Canadian defence priorities offers a new explanation for this disparity of procurement success based on the need to both create and maintain alignment between government strategic defence policy and military service doctrine if major platform purchasing decisions are to survive.

Key Words

Australia ; Canada ; Military Procurement ; Strategic Studies ; F-35 JSF

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