Rounds of mobile investment and ‘strategic coupling’ dynamics in the semi-periphery: investigating the experience of Northern Ireland since the mid-1990s

The paper is concerned with the economic development challenges and policy dilemmas facing semi-peripheral regions of developed economies that are connected to the global economy via the attraction of mobile foreign direct investment and participation in global production networks. Building on the tradition of work on branch plant economies and more recent literature on strategic coupling with global production networks, this explores the experience of Northern Ireland during two decades of structural change. Overlapping, sometimes simultaneous, processes of de-coupling, coupling and re-coupling with various manufacturing and service production networks are identified. A conceptual framework for analysing these processes is presented. Preliminary insights from 3 mini-case studies of 'strategic coupling encounters' (with the textile/clothing, outsourced contact centre and IT/technology development GPN segments) are reported. The paper concludes with 6 discussion points for further exploration in ongoing research.