Bell, Jason;
Monaco, Lorenza;
Mondliwa, Pamela;
(2021)
Leveraging Plastics Linkages for Diversification: An Assessment of Backward Linkages from Polymers and Forward Linkages to the Automotive Industry.
In: Andreoni, Antonio and Mondliwa, Pamela and Roberts, Simon and Tregenna, Fiona, (eds.)
Structural Transformation in South Africa: The Challenges of Inclusive Industrial Development in a Middle-Income Country.
(pp. 78-99).
Oxford University Press
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Abstract
The chapter considers the role of linkages, lead firm strategies, industrial policies, and value chain governance in the performance of the South African plastic products industry. The extent to which the linkages of the plastic products sub-sector backwards with the polymers industry, and forwards to plastic automotive components, have influenced the performance of the industry is assessed. The forward linkages to the automotive industry are assessed through a comparative assessment of technological capability accumulation in South Africa with its relatively more successful upper-middle-income counterpart, Thailand. The analysis shows that vertical integration and horizontal collaborations through clusters, as well as the different roles played by multinational corporations and the state, have exerted a stronger influence on the accumulation of capabilities in Thailand, compared with South Africa. The assessment of backward linkages to polymers shows how the linkage development in South Africa has been undermined by market power in the upstream polymers industry. This is coupled with a failure of industrial policy to support diversified industries such as plastic products, including through addressing the challenges related to input prices and supporting the accumulation of capabilities.
| Type: | Book chapter |
|---|---|
| Title: | Leveraging Plastics Linkages for Diversification: An Assessment of Backward Linkages from Polymers and Forward Linkages to the Automotive Industry |
| ISBN: | 0192894315 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1093/oso/9780192894311.003.0004 |
| Publisher version: | https://academic.oup.com/book/39853/chapter/340013... |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © Oxford University Press 2021. This is an open access publication, available online and distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), a copy of which is available at (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | structural transformation, industrial policy, linkages, governance, plastics, automotive components, technological change |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Inst for Innovation and Public Purpose |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10199587 |
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