Epilogue: implications for promoting firm-level technological capabilities

This conclusion draws theoretical and policy implications for technological capability building from the host-site institutional support and production linkage experiences in China and Southeast Asia. While connecting with production chains have been instrumental in the integration of developing sites in global markets, sites that managed upgrading from low to high value-added activities in the automotive, clothing and semiconductor industries relied strongly on institutional support at host sites. Hence, the global value chain approach is useful in understanding integration in the capitalist world economy. However, only sites with effective industrial policy successfully transformed subsequently to designing and R&D activities.