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Conclusion: Competition, Politics, and the Social Construction of Flexible Labor Systems

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Social Reconstructions of the World Automobile Industry

Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

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Abstract

Dynamic production flexibility provides an important basis for competitive success insofar as it supports continuous change and improvement in product and process. But beyond this obvious point, important questions remain. In particular: when and under what circumstances is flexible production actually introduced? To what extent, and how, have its core features been diffused across cultures and nationalities? What forms may it take? What relationship does it bear to human resource and industrial relations practices? How does it affect labor and social welfare? What is its impact on relations with and personnel practices within supplier firms? And how is it influenced by labor politics and state policy? The following concluding comments draw on the chapters in this volume to provide provisional responses to these questions.

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© 1996 Frederic C. Deyo

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Deyo, F.C. (1996). Conclusion: Competition, Politics, and the Social Construction of Flexible Labor Systems. In: Deyo, F.C. (eds) Social Reconstructions of the World Automobile Industry. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24897-1_10

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