Knowledge Transfer in the Automobile Industry ― Global-local Production Networks

The book arose from a multi-disciplinary study which looked at the development of global-local manufacturing clusters in the context of a developing, Asian economy. The study demonstrates the connection amongst theoretical perspectives such as international business, development studies, economic geography, and organisational learning clusters/production networks through an in-depth case study of the Indonesian automotive cluster. The book gives a detailed account of two automotive clusters (Toyota and Honda) and their contribution to regional economic development in emerging economies in Asian region. The book builds on existing literature to develop a theoretical framework to shed light on the study's empirical findings.

The book discusses practical implications for both the business community and policy makers. The discussion on global-local networks in an Asian context supplements existing literature and case studies in the field. This is one of the few books that explicitly links regional clusters to global networks. The book offers a refreshingly international (Asian) perspective to the literature on clusters and economic geography for emerging economies.

Dessy Irawati, Ph.D, is a Teaching Associate at Newcastle University Business School in the UK and a Visiting Lecturer at Graduate School of Management, University Putra Malaysia. She gained her Ph.D in International Business Strategy and Economic Geography in 2009 from Newcastle University Business School, UK. Her disciplinary background is in International Business Strategy, Economic Geography, and Regional Studies. She explores why some regions have a better economic performance than others and argues that this is because they encourage knowledge creation in the global-local networks more than other regions.

Furthermore, she has researched and taught international business management, investigating overlaps with the fields of strategy, organisation, and learning. Alongside this, she continues to develop her research interests on innovation and regional development in knowledge-based economy, specifically in the context of agglomeration, industries, and networks. Her extended research interests are: international business strategy, multinational enterprises (MNEs), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), innovation and technology management, globalisation and development studies, cluster- based policy and networks, industrial dynamics and knowledge transfer.