| dc.creator | McCormick, Dorothy | |
| dc.creator | Ongile, Grace | |
| dc.date | 2011-05-03T14:08:23Z | |
| dc.date | 2011-05-03T14:08:23Z | |
| dc.date | 1993 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2012-11-10T13:22:26Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2012-11-10T13:22:26Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 10-11-12 | |
| dc.identifier | McCormick, Dorothy and Ongile, Grace. (1993) Growth and the organization of production: case studies from Nairobi's garment industry. Discussion Paper 294, Nairobi: Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi | |
| dc.identifier | http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/123456789/776 | |
| dc.identifier | 121156 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/handle/123456789/1997 | |
| dc.description | Most enterprises in Nairobi's garment industry begin small and stay that
way. Owners of businesses selected for intensive study consider weak demand to
be the major barrier to growth. Current theories of industrial organisation
identify two clearly different production models: Mass production, rooted in
the advantages of scale economies; and flexible specialisation, a paradigm
focusing on flexibility and innovation. Analysis of market relations in
Nairobi's garment industry reveals not two, but five different types of firms:
custom tailors, contract workshops, specialised small producers, minimanufacturers,
and mass producers. Preliminary research indicates that some
types can cope with weak and fluctuating demand better than others. Contract
workshops, specialised small producers, mass producers capable of tapping
external markets, and high quality custom tailors have the greatest potential
for success, while low-to-medium quality custom tailors, mini-manufacturers,
and mass producers tied to the domestic market have the least, The analysis
has important implications for the shape of Kenyan industry, employment
creation, and entrepreneurship. It also suggests that interventions by
government and/or NGOs need to be targeted, not at small and medium-size, firms
in general, but at the most promising types of producers. | |
| dc.language | en | |
| dc.publisher | Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi | |
| dc.relation | Discussion Papers;294 | |
| dc.rights | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ | |
| dc.rights | Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi | |
| dc.subject | Industrial Development | |
| dc.subject | Economic Development | |
| dc.title | Growth and the organization of production: case studies from Nairobi's garment industry | |
| dc.type | Series paper (non-IDS) | |
