P. Maskell et A. Malmberg, The competitiveness of firms and regions - 'Ubiquitification' and the importance of localized learning, EUR URB R S, 6(1), 1999, pp. 9-25
In traditional location theory there is a distinction between factors of pr
oduction for which the costs differ significantly between locations, on the
one hand, and production inputs which are in practice available everywhere
at more or less the same cost (i.e. so-called ubiquities) on the other.
In this article, we discuss the process whereby some previously important l
ocation factors are actively converted into ubiquities. With an admittedly
rather horrendous term, we label this process 'ubiquitification'. It is arg
ued that ubiquitification is the outcome of the ongoing globalization proce
ss as well as of a process whereby former tacit knowledge gradually becomes
codified.
Ubiquitification tends to undermine the competitiveness of firms in the hig
h-cost areas of the world. When international markets are opened up and whe
n knowledge of the latest production technologies and organizational design
s become globally available, firms in low-cost areas become more competitiv
e. In a knowledge-based economy, as a consequence, firms in high-cost areas
must either shield some valuable pieces of knowledge from becoming globall
y accessible, or be able to create, acquire, accumulate and utilize codifia
ble knowledge a little faster than their cost-wise more favourably located
competitors.
Focusing on learning processes, the article maintains that most firms learn
from close interaction with suppliers, customers and rivals. Furthermore,
processes of knowledge creation are strongly influenced by specific localiz
ed capabilities such as resources, institutions, social and cultural struct
ures.