Manufacturing linkages in Launceston : a study of a peripherally located provincial service centre and the implications for linkage development in capitalist economies

The primary research objectives of this study are to: (i) determine the character of manufacturing operations in Launceston, a provincial service centre in a peripherally located environment; (ii) determine the local and interregional linkage patterns of Launceston's manufacturing operations; (iii) determine the factors responsible for variations in the linkage behaviour of Launceston's manufacturers; and (iv) compare Launceston linkage structures with those established for other urban and regional environments within a framework of spatial variation in linkage development among capitalist economies, focusing particularly on the macroeconomic environment as it relates to regional variations in urban/industrial structure in determining linkage patterns. The study accomplishes these objectives via a comprehensive survey of all Launceston manufacturing operations, regardless of size and type of manufacturing activity. Indeed, the census approach adopted, the range of data collected, and the wide (yet appropriate to contemporary industrial geography) definitional interpretations used, permit the evolution of a broadly based study within a specific environmental context that expands the spatial perspectives of linkage behaviour. Moreover, the methodologies present a format for further study which will readily facilitate interregional comparison. Manufacturing in Launceston is found to be dominated by small scale, industrially diverse, service oriented activities, with most large scale operations restricted to resource based activity, supplemented by limited fabricative activity that has ''filtered down'' from core area economies. Forward linkages of the Launceston manufacturing economy are highly localised, which is largely a function of the nature and location of demand, and the character of the local economy. Limited local intermediate demand results in a component of long distance forward linkages. Backward linkages, however, are considerably more spatially extended because of limited local potential for backward integration. This potential exists through the natural resources of the area, although most firms are dependent on commodities that are not produced locally. In the latter circumstance, differentials in firm character are strongly associated with differences in the mechanism of acquisition. These patterns are found to be entirely consistent with Launceston's peripheral and provincial service centre status. The study concludes that regional variations in linkage capacity determine the parameters for linkage development, to which firms respond with varying strategies. A partial equilibrium model of linkage structure development, in which the potential for local orientation varies according to core-periphery/urban hierarchy relationships, is proposed. The integration of macroeconomic and organisational relationships within a spatial framework contributes an important dimension to contemporary debate concerning firm behaviour and environmental interactions.