GEOG 101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Ikea, Walmart, Optical Fiber
Document Summary
Geography of a commodity chain can range from being concentrated in one particular place to being widely dispersed across a wide range of localities. 5 points about geographical structures of commodity chains. The geographical complexity of global commodity chains is increasing, enabled by a range of developments in transport, communications, and process technologies. The geographic configurations of global commodity chains are becoming more dynamic and liable to rapid change derived from space shrinking technologies and new organizational forms. Understanding the geography of a commodity chain is not as simple as locating each stage in a particular place or country. Global commodity chains are not just features of agricultural and manufacturing sectors, but are also apparent in many service sectors. We need to connect these ideas about the geographical extensiveness and complexity of global commodity chains with the arguments about the geographic clustering of economic activity. In most cases, the commodity chain will have a primary coordinator or a lead firm.
