Contents
List of Figures and Tables ix
Foreword xiii
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xvii
Part I Evolving Patterns of Expanding Trade
1 Firms Adapting to Global Marketplaces: Introduction 3
2 The Phenomenon of Globalization in Trade 7
3 Theorizations of Economic Geography 12
Part II The Indian Textile Policy and SMEs
4 The Indian Textile Industry: Some Observations 21
5 Small and Medium Enterprises in Indian Textiles 33
6 Kannur: History, Background and Trade Linkages 41
Part III Analytical Framework and Study Design
7 Global Value Chain Analysis Framework 55
8 The Study of Linkages Using Mixed Methods 67
9 Presenting the Analysis of Qualitative Data 76
Part IV Reflexive Records of Evidence
10 Examining Emergent Codes through Constant Comparison 85
11 Examining Apriori Codes through Cross Case Analysis
of Case Reports 150
12 Analyses of Buyer Perceptions and Buying Functions 230
Part V Impacts, Outcomes and Future Directions
13 Analyzing the Collective Perception by Survey of SMEs 243
14 Developing Meta Inferences from Case Studies and Surveys 272
15 Conclusion: Possible Strategies against Self-Limiting Growth 292
Notes 301
Glossary 306
References 308
Index 316
List of Figures and Tables
Figures
4.1 Export of home textiles 31
4.2 Main clusters of home textiles and made ups in India 32
12.1 Radar chart comparing firm H’s assessment of industry CSFs with firm’s assessment of own performance in meeting buyer’s requirement 231
12.2 Radar chart comparing buyer’s assessment of CSFs with
firm H’s assessment of own performance in meeting
industry CSFs (buyer: importer and worldwide distributor of furnishing fabrics) 232
12.3 Radar chart comparing buyer’s assessment of suppliercentered factors with firm H’s assessment of own
performance in meeting buyer’s requirement (buyer:
retailer well as importer and distributor of made up
categories in own brand, own brand in other stores) 234
12.4 Radar chart comparing buyer’s assessment of firm
performance with firm H’s assessment of own performance
in meeting buyer’s requirement (buyer: importer
and distributor of made ups in UK market) 235
12.5 Radar chart comparing firm M’s assessment of buyer’s requirement with firm’s assessment of own performance in meeting buyer’s requirement 236
12.6 Radar chart comparing buyer’s assessment of suppliercentered factors with firm M’s assessment of own performance in meeting buyer’s requirement (buyer: importer and worldwide distributor of furnishing fabrics) 236
12.7 Radar chart comparing firm S’s assessment of buyer’s requirement with firm’s assessment of own performance
in meeting buyer’s requirement 237
12.8 Radar chart comparing firm S’s assessment of own performance with buyer’s assessment of supplier-centered factors 238
13.1 Firms classified by annual turnover (in crores of rupees) 244
13.2 Changes in product category preferences of firms 246
13.3 Product categories important to the industry in 2010 247
13.4 Pooled factors enabling firm success in the initial period 250
13.5 Relative importance of initial groups of factors 251
13.6 Pooled factors enabling firm success in 2010 255
13.7 Indications of upgrading activities taken up by firms 258
13.8 Aspects of upgrading not commonly undertaken 260
13.9 Sources of legislative governance 264
13.10 Legislative governance aspects not common in firms 265
13.11 Aspects of judicial governance common in firms 266
13.12 Source of fabric production carried out by firms 267
13.13 Important destination of sales (rank 1 tabulated) 268
13.14 Major buyer segments of importance 269
13.15 Nature of value chain relationship with most valuable customer group 271
Tables
4.1 Values of bed linen, table linen, toilet linen, kitchen linen (in US$ million) 32
7.1 Data sources for specific types of rent 57
7.2 Type of governance by parties external and internal to chain 59
7.3 Two sets of factors determining rules and standards 60
7.4 Sources of executive governance 61
7.5 Practices and performance outcomes of upgrading 64
11.1 Data array of firm rents – technology rents 151
11.2 Data array of firm rents – human resources 154
11.3 Data array of firm rents – organization of work 157
11.4 Data array of firm rents – marketing 161
11.5 Data array of firm rents – R&D rents 165
11.6 Data array of resource-based rents 170
11.7 Data array of relational or chain rents 172
11.8 Data array of exogenous rents – policy rents 178
11.9 Data array of exogenous rents – infrastructure rents 180
11.10 Data array of legislative governance within and between firms 183
11.11 Data array of executive governance within and between firms 191
11.12 Data array of judicial governance within and between firms 198
11.13 Data array of trust-based implementation of governance 202
11.14 Data array of process upgrading within links 206
11.15 Data array of process upgrading between links 210
11.16 Data array of products upgrading within links 212
11.17 Data array of products upgrading between links 216
11.18 Data array of changing mix of activities or functional upgrading 220
11.19 Data array of evidence of value chain upgrading 222
11.20 Data array of order winning characteristics 224
11.21 Data array of order qualifying characteristics 228
12.1 Data array of order winning characteristics 239
12.2 Data array of the key product categories 240
12.3 Data array for key destination of sales 240
13.1 Consolidated home furnishing exports from Kannur 245
13.2 Factors contributing to firm success in initial stage 249
13.3 Pooled factors contributing to firm success 253
13.4 Pooled factors affecting firm success in 2010 254
13.5 Extent of upgrading within and between firms in the value chain 256
13.6 The predominantly affirmative areas of upgrading 257
13.7 Upgrading possibilities not commonly undertaken 259
13.8 Upgrading activities pooled across categories 261
13.9 Degree of importance of pooled factors 262
13.10 Aspects of legislative governance predominant in the cluster 263
13.11 Non-affirmative aspects of legislative governance 264
13.12 Judicial governance aspects seen among survey firms 265
Preface
The presence of historical remnants in day-to-day artifacts is a reality that is especially relevant to anything Indian. From handicrafts to textiles and clothing and within choices of food and drink, history has molded and shaped personal preferences, already differentiated by subcultural contexts. In an extension to this reality, I have attempted to lay bare the social and cultural rootedness of the home furnishing export industry centered in the North of Kerala.
Fabrics from the South of India, specifically Kannur and Calicut (Kozhikode) in the North of Kerala, have been supplied to interior design markets in the West since the 1950s. This has not been of the mass produced variety but specialty handwoven drapery, upholstery and room-specific furnishing ranges, with customized textures, embroidery, weaving designs and tones. Not surprisingly they have made their way to the White House (the Blue Room) in 2008 and Buckingham Palace. My first experience of the beauty and singularity of these woven fabrics was from visits to the Commonwealth Trust Factory in Calicut in the late 1980s, where beautiful furnishing rolls, toweling and linens were produced at international standard for Parry Murray, London. Factory seco nds and export surplus stock was sold on the premises of the colonial buildings of the Trust which lent an old world charm to the otherwise dilapidated structure and environs. It seemed magical that cooperatives and traditional weavers with craftsmanship tendered by their caste-based occupations and the rigorous patronship of the Basel Mission fathers could produce such creations by hand.
Enrolling for a doctoral program in Management, it became clear that the many studies about the cooperative sector and industry in Kerala had been about sector productivity, labor issues and industrial sickness and also about export marketing strategies and possibilities. Few went into the specific sector linkages, and the way in which work was organized or how such varied designs and products emerged from such a remote corner of the state, with little infrastructural support (at that time). It seemed that despite catering to such specialized markets for decades, the region had not been favored because of its export linkages. The handloom weaver cooperatives so crucial for the handwoven fabric manufacture as a second tier of production were an important link, but one that was explored only for its financial instability and cost mismanagement.
A different facet of the industry was ripe for exploration. An industry that had reached maturity, starting as small weaving units, growing into machine shops and developing factory specialization. An industry that was tutored by Basel Mission fathers in Kannur, South Kanara and Kozhikode, whose religious objectives were tempered by their invaluable contributions to society in the form of schools, churches, women’s education, organized weaving establishments, compilation of regional dictionaries and the furthering of Christianity among the heathen.
Perhaps their greatest contribution was to commercialize handloom production, through the use of ‘maggham’ or frame looms over the pit loom, which made it convenient for the weaver to increase his output. This study took three years to explore. How firms remained linked to key buyer markets, and continuously satisfied their strident demands from the beginning of the industry, to the present, demanded an intensive, reflexive exploration. Understanding their industry, through their structures, processes and social linkages, needed intensive qualitative data collection, narrative accounts, deep reflection and rich description. Though mentally exhausting, it was a rewarding exercise. I believe this is the outcome of that strenuous mental process. That interpretation of the embeddedness of their craft, in the psyches of these producers, the export factories, inexplicably linked to webs of cooperatives and a slow dissipation of these ties that bind that has caused industry to weave new directions. It is a story that needed to be told, and a fitting example of how globalization transforms from a word we hear about, to a reality in the wrinkled hands of the weaver.