The Korean Mode of Production through an Organizational Lens: Cross-Industry and Cross-National Comparative Research

Question

How do organizations mediate technological change and economic geographies across industries and countries?

This long-term program asks how technological capabilities develop and change within organizational, policy, and regional settings. Grounded in organizational sociology, it connects STS, innovation studies, and economic geography. Existing research on South Korean shipbuilding and industrial cities provides a point of departure. The aim is to develop comparisons across shipbuilding, automotive, and semiconductor industries and across national settings. Rather than assuming a single Korean model, the program asks which arrangements recur, where they differ, and how organizations connect technology to particular places. It will connect firms' capability formation and policy choices about industrial transition with their consequences for work and regional life. The three themes below organize these questions.