Integration and isolation in the global petrochemical industry: A multi-scalar corporate network analysis
The global petrochemical industry has long been characterized by stable patterns of Western corporate and geographic leadership, but since the early 2000s, the global playing field has changed significantly. China has overtaken the United States and Europe as the world’s largest petrochemical produc...
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ftleedsuniv:oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:162482 2023-05-15T17:35:18+02:00 Integration and isolation in the global petrochemical industry: A multi-scalar corporate network analysis Verbeek, T. Mah, A. 2020-08-28 text https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/162482/ https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/162482/10/10_09_2020_Integratio.pdf en eng Taylor & Francis https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/162482/10/10_09_2020_Integratio.pdf Verbeek, T. orcid.org/0000-0002-4669-2685 and Mah, A. (2020) Integration and isolation in the global petrochemical industry: A multi-scalar corporate network analysis. Economic Geography, 96 (4). pp. 363-387. ISSN 0013-0095 cc_by_nc_nd_4 CC-BY-NC-ND Article PeerReviewed 2020 ftleedsuniv 2023-01-30T22:30:44Z The global petrochemical industry has long been characterized by stable patterns of Western corporate and geographic leadership, but since the early 2000s, the global playing field has changed significantly. China has overtaken the United States and Europe as the world’s largest petrochemical producer, and other emerging economies have emerged as global petrochemical players. Combining insights from scholarship on global corporate elites, world city networks, and relational economic geography, this article examines patterns in the corporate networks of leading petrochemical corporations. The research is based on a multi-scalar corporate network analysis, applying social network analysis to identify board interlocks, joint venture interlocks, and spatial interlocks between corporations. Through analyzing corporate networks across multiple scales, the research reveals patterns of both integration and isolation within the petrochemical industry. Isolation is evident in disconnected regional corporate elite networks, where the established North Atlantic corporate elite is interconnected through board interlocks, while corporate networks in Asia and other emerging economies remain disconnected. However, high levels of integration within the industry are also evident in an interconnected international company system formed through joint venture collaborations, and in overlapping subsidiary networks centered on petrochemical hubs around the world. The article argues that the results demonstrate a combination of resilience and change, or path dependence and contingency, in patterns of corporate power and collaboration. Western company networks still form the social and spatial backbone of the industry, but these have been challenged by emerging strategic centers and isolated elite networks in other parts of the world. This paper contributes to debates on industrial corporate elites, multiple globalizations, and the multipolar global economy. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic White Rose Research Online (Universities of Leeds, Sheffield & York) |
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White Rose Research Online (Universities of Leeds, Sheffield & York) |
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English |
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The global petrochemical industry has long been characterized by stable patterns of Western corporate and geographic leadership, but since the early 2000s, the global playing field has changed significantly. China has overtaken the United States and Europe as the world’s largest petrochemical producer, and other emerging economies have emerged as global petrochemical players. Combining insights from scholarship on global corporate elites, world city networks, and relational economic geography, this article examines patterns in the corporate networks of leading petrochemical corporations. The research is based on a multi-scalar corporate network analysis, applying social network analysis to identify board interlocks, joint venture interlocks, and spatial interlocks between corporations. Through analyzing corporate networks across multiple scales, the research reveals patterns of both integration and isolation within the petrochemical industry. Isolation is evident in disconnected regional corporate elite networks, where the established North Atlantic corporate elite is interconnected through board interlocks, while corporate networks in Asia and other emerging economies remain disconnected. However, high levels of integration within the industry are also evident in an interconnected international company system formed through joint venture collaborations, and in overlapping subsidiary networks centered on petrochemical hubs around the world. The article argues that the results demonstrate a combination of resilience and change, or path dependence and contingency, in patterns of corporate power and collaboration. Western company networks still form the social and spatial backbone of the industry, but these have been challenged by emerging strategic centers and isolated elite networks in other parts of the world. This paper contributes to debates on industrial corporate elites, multiple globalizations, and the multipolar global economy. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Verbeek, T. Mah, A. |
spellingShingle |
Verbeek, T. Mah, A. Integration and isolation in the global petrochemical industry: A multi-scalar corporate network analysis |
author_facet |
Verbeek, T. Mah, A. |
author_sort |
Verbeek, T. |
title |
Integration and isolation in the global petrochemical industry: A multi-scalar corporate network analysis |
title_short |
Integration and isolation in the global petrochemical industry: A multi-scalar corporate network analysis |
title_full |
Integration and isolation in the global petrochemical industry: A multi-scalar corporate network analysis |
title_fullStr |
Integration and isolation in the global petrochemical industry: A multi-scalar corporate network analysis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Integration and isolation in the global petrochemical industry: A multi-scalar corporate network analysis |
title_sort |
integration and isolation in the global petrochemical industry: a multi-scalar corporate network analysis |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/162482/ https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/162482/10/10_09_2020_Integratio.pdf |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/162482/10/10_09_2020_Integratio.pdf Verbeek, T. orcid.org/0000-0002-4669-2685 and Mah, A. (2020) Integration and isolation in the global petrochemical industry: A multi-scalar corporate network analysis. Economic Geography, 96 (4). pp. 363-387. ISSN 0013-0095 |
op_rights |
cc_by_nc_nd_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC-ND |
_version_ |
1766134423437180928 |