Abstract

This research addresses conceptual and practical challenges presented by industrial policy development. The selective nature of industrial policy makes it necessary to account for particular industry characteristics and dynamics in order to design appropriate policy responses. This represents a growing challenge as industrial systems have over the last few years become increasingly complex, spanning national, regional and industrial boundaries. This in turn leads to multiple interdependencies between firms, activities, components, technologies, and subsystems, all of which are constantly evolving influenced by a range of endogenous and exogenous factors.

This work has drawn upon insights gained from an analysis of industrial policies in a number of key countries and regions. Fieldwork carried out in Singapore, involving visits to industrial sites, as well as interviews with policy makers, company managers, and international consultants, provided evidence for a rich case study focused on the highly successful aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry.

The approach adopted has been to investigate what types of analysis might be appropriate at different levels of the policy process, and how they might be integrated to account for the complex and evolving nature of modern manufacturing systems. The main contributions to theory emerging from this work include: • A novel approach to policy oriented industrial system analysis, integrating economics, engineering, and operations management perspectives. • A systems oriented framework for industrial policy development. • Development of the construct of national value capture as a guiding principle for policy development.