IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cel/dpaper/38.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Labour regime in the ‘new economy’: The case of software industry in Central Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Miroslav Beblavý
  • Lucia Mýtna Kureková

Abstract

The software industry in Central Europe has seen a fast growth in exports and in employment over the past decade. Given the core importance of human capital, this paper studies how the institutional framework in the organisation of skill provision and labour market regulation, developed with the specific aim of sustaining the growth of traditional manufacturing sectors, provides (or not) adequate conditions for the growth of innovative industries where organisation of the workforce has specific demands. We propose a model of skill hierarchy which helps us to better understand particular employee profiles, employment relations dynamics and recruitment practices in the sector. We show that various forms of labour market flexibility and labour pool flexibility have been important factors in explaining sectoral success and growth, not only in the automotive sector, but also in the IT industry, and have contributed to an improved position of Central Europe in the global division of tasks. The current model might be reaching its limits, however, particularly for more sophisticated and home-grown firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Miroslav Beblavý & Lucia Mýtna Kureková, 2016. "Labour regime in the ‘new economy’: The case of software industry in Central Europe," Discussion Papers 38, Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI).
    • Handle: RePEc:cel:dpaper:38
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://celsi.sk/media/discussion_papers/DP38.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Magdolna Sass & Martina Fifekova, 2010. "Offshoring and Outsourcing Business Services to Central and Eastern Europe: Some Empirical and Conceptual Considerations," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(9), pages 1593-1609, October.
    2. Seá Ó Riain, 2004. "The politics of mobility in technology‐driven commodity chains: developmental coalitions in the Irish software industry," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 642-663, September.
    3. Seamus Grimes, 2006. "Ireland's Emergence as a Centre for Internationally Traded Services," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(9), pages 1041-1054.
    4. Malgorzata Jakubiak & Peter Kolesar & Ivailo Izvorski & Lucia Kurekova, 2008. "The Automotive Industry in the Slovak Republic," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28010.
    5. Agrawal, Ajay & Kapur, Devesh & McHale, John, 2008. "How do spatial and social proximity influence knowledge flows? Evidence from patent data," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 258-269, September.
    6. Michael J. Enright, 2003. "Regional Clusters: What We Know and What We Should Know," Advances in Spatial Science, in: Johannes Bröcker & Dirk Dohse & Rüdiger Soltwedel (ed.), Innovation Clusters and Interregional Competition, chapter 6, pages 99-129, Springer.
    7. Chris Benner, 2003. "Labour Flexibility and Regional Development: The Role of Labour Market Intermediaries," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6-7), pages 621-633.
    8. Rolee Aranya, 2008. "Location Theory in Reverse? Location for Global Production in the IT Industry of Bangalore," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 40(2), pages 446-463, February.
    9. Petr Pavlínek & Jan Ženka, 2011. "Upgrading in the automotive industry: firm-level evidence from Central Europe," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(3), pages 559-586, May.
    10. Ron Boschma, 2005. "Proximity and Innovation: A Critical Assessment," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 61-74.
    11. Annalee Saxenian, 2002. "Transnational Communities and the Evolution of Global Production Networks: The Cases of Taiwan, China and India," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(3), pages 183-202.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohammadi, Ali & Broström, Anders & Franzoni, Chiara, 2015. "Work Force Composition and Innovation: How Diversity in Employees’ Ethnical and Disciplinary Backgrounds Facilitates Knowledge Re-combination," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 413, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    2. Lorenzo Cassi & Anne Plunket, 2014. "Proximity, network formation and inventive performance: in search of the proximity paradox," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 53(2), pages 395-422, September.
    3. Jan Ženka & Josef Novotný & Ondřej Slach & Igor Ivan, 2017. "Spatial Distribution of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services in a Small Post-Communist Economy," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(2), pages 385-406, June.
    4. Meng, Rüdiger, 2012. "Räumliche Aspekte der Innovationsförderung: Hintergründe, Perspektiven und Kritik," Arbeitsberichte der ARL: Aufsätze, in: Growe, Anna & Heider, Katharina & Lamker, Christian & Paßlick, Sandra & Terfrüchte, Thomas (ed.), Polyzentrale Stadtregionen - Die Region als planerischer Handlungsraum, volume 3, pages 241-254, ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft.
    5. Ron Boschma & Simona Iammarino & Raffaele Paci & Jordy Suriñach & Corinne Autant-Bernard & Sylvie Chalaye & Elisa Gagliardini & Stefano Usai, 2017. "European Knowledge Neighbourhood: Knowledge Production in EU Neighbouring Countries and Intensity of the Relationship with EU Countries," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 108(1), pages 52-75, February.
    6. Morescalchi, Andrea & Pammolli, Fabio & Penner, Orion & Petersen, Alexander M. & Riccaboni, Massimo, 2015. "The evolution of networks of innovators within and across borders: Evidence from patent data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 651-668.
    7. Nicole Litzel & Joachim Möller, 2011. "Industrial Clusters and Economic Integration: Theoretic Concepts and an Application to the European Metropolitan Region Nuremberg," Chapters, in: Miroslav N. Jovanović (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Integration, Volume II, chapter 12, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Aurélie LALANNE & Guillaume POUYANNE, 2012. "Ten years of metropolization in economics: a bibliometric approach (In French)," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2012-11, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    9. Ernest Miguelez, 2013. "How does geographical mobility of inventors influence network formation?," WIPO Economic Research Working Papers 07, World Intellectual Property Organization - Economics and Statistics Division, revised Apr 2013.
    10. Rune Dahl Fitjar & Franz Huber & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2016. "Not too close, not too far: testing the Goldilocks principle of ‘optimal’ distance in innovation networks," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(6), pages 465-487, August.
    11. Christian Omobhude & Shih-Hsin Chen, 2019. "The Roles and Measurements of Proximity in Sustained Technology Development: A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-30, January.
    12. Benner, Maximilian, 2009. "What do we know about clusters? In search of effective cluster policies," MPRA Paper 43848, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2009.
    13. Jong Hwa Park, 2009. "Locational Environment, Obstacles, and Policy Demands in an Emerging Cluster: The Case of a Medical Cluster in Daegu," International Review of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 107-125, January.
    14. Crescenzi, Riccardo & Nathan, Max & Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés, 2016. "Do inventors talk to strangers? On proximity and collaborative knowledge creation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 177-194.
    15. Vitor Klein Schmidt & Aurora Carneiro Zen & Bernardo Fernandes Soares & Bruno Anicet Bittencourt, 2023. "Trajectory and cluster resilience elements: The case of the Brazilian wine cluster of the Serra Gaúcha," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 596-624, June.
    16. Giuseppe Croce & Edoardo Di Porto & Emanuela Ghignoni & Andrea Ricci, 2013. "Employer education, agglomeration and workplace training: poaching vs knowledge spillovers," Working Papers in Public Economics 162, Department of Economics and Law, Sapienza University of Roma.
    17. Michaela Trippl & Lukas Lengauer & Franz Tödtling, 2007. "Innovation und Wissensnetze im Wiener Informations- und Kommunikationtechnologiecluster," SRE-Disc sre-disc-2007_02, Institute for Multilevel Governance and Development, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    18. Ooms, Ward & Ebbekink, Miranda, 2018. "In search of the sweet spot: The role of personal proximity in three Dutch clusters," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 48-60.
    19. Marie Ferru & Marie-Pierre Renée Bes & Michel Grossetti, 2011. "Measuring social proximity in the geography of innovation," Post-Print halshs-01395667, HAL.
    20. Wentian Shi & Wenlong Yang & Debin Du, 2020. "The Scientific Cooperation Network of Chinese Scientists and Its Proximity Mechanism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cel:dpaper:38. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Martin Kahanec (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/celsisk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.