Over the course of the last 10 or 15 years there appears to be taking place a fundamental shift in the 'industrial paradigm' governing the nature of competition in advanced industrial markets. Among the characteristics of this shift are a transition from mass production to flexible manufacturing...

This paper shows that plant and firm size in manufacturing, and especially in engineering industry, in several Western industrial countries has declined since the early 1970s. Two hypotheses explaining the decline are advanced. One is 'de-glomeration' or specialization: the divestiture of...