THE JANUS-FACED ECONOMY: HONG KONG FIRMS AS INTERMEDIARIES BETWEEN GLOBAL CUSTOMERS AND LOCAL PRODUCERS IN THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY

The influence of the institutional framework on governance modes is well covered in economic geography literature but lacks empirical evidence. The main focus of this work is to explain the governance of customer and producer relations of Hong Kong-based electronics firms by institutional factors. Hong Kong firms are able to deal simultaneously with both the Chinese transitional setting and global markets, thus leading them to be described as Janus-faced. Producer relations with the Pearl River Delta are mainly organised in hierarchical ways, whereas globally spread customers govern their relations with Hong Kong firms via the market. Despite the differences of the institutional setting, the advantages of spatial concentration of producers in proximity to Hong Kong have been proven.