Local institutions, local networks and the upgrading challenge. Mobilising regional assets to supply the global auto industry in Northern Mexico

摘要

Ever since the 1980s, Mexico assumed a relevant role in the manufacturing of automobiles for North America. The current crisis in the world's auto industry has inflamed the controversy about the sustainability of a development strategy based on industries driven by transnational corporations, especially as this industry has become highly concentrated, driven by a small number of very large assembly firms and a privileged group of globalised transnational suppliers. Taking this controversy as background, a case study was designed to analyse the role of local suppliers within the industrial complex led by Ford Motor Company in Hermosillo, Mexico. The article explores the mechanisms of knowledge transfer from Ford and its global suppliers to the local economy, the emergence of some small local companies providing knowledge-intensive services, and the role of local institutions and organisations to support the upgrading of the local suppliers.