CORPORATE NETWORKS, VALUE CHAINS, AND SPATIAL ORGANIZATION: A STUDY OF THE COMPUTER INDUSTRY IN CHINA1

Abstract: Global economic restructuring and technological change are transforming the map of global production and the global division of labor. Based on the perspectives of global value chains and global production networks, this study analyzes the production networks, value chains, and spatial organization of the computer industry in China. It was found that the notion of a sym-metric, bell-shaped smiling curve is a highly idealized conceptual framework, and for a develop-ing country like China where leading firms have yet to become top-tier transnational corporations, the smiling curve more likely exhibits a flattened saucer shape. China is also increasingly being integrated into global production networks, and a new form of spatial organization, centered on emerging global cities and globalizing cities, is emerging. An investigation of the global–local networks of the computer industry showed that the embeddedness of transnational corporations (TNCs) is heavily influenced by industrial characteristics and geographical/institutional con