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Hungarian geographical bulletinVol. 69. No. 2. (2020.)

Tartalom

Tematikus cím:This special issue is based on the IGU-CDES Conference held in Budapest, 2-4 October 2019

Fourth industrial revolution in economic geographical approach

  • Johannes Winter :
    The evolutionary and disruptive potential of Industrie 4.083-97en [975.29 kB - PDF]EPA-02541-00046-0010

    Abstract: Despite all the hype, digitalization is not a new trend. The third industrial revolution started as early as the beginning of the 1970s and has continued to this day. It is shaped using electronics and information technologies (IT) in the economy and progressive standardization and automation of business processes. While exponential growth is typical for the IT sector, this is rarely the case for the classic industries. For a long time, the change was barely perceivable, which led many players to denounce these developments as uninteresting, losing interest at an early stage. But then, as the process picks up breakneck speeds, it often becomes impossible to jump on board or keep up. When automation driven by electronics and IT established itself in production, it led to dramatic changes in value chains and employment structures. Through standardization and automation, business processes became more efficient, quicker, and transparent. When the dot-com speculative bubble burst in 2000, vending machines that ordered supplies independently were already in operation. In the search for the business model of the Information Age, electronic marketplaces became popular pioneers for dynamic business networks and real-time business. Many of today’s well-known technology firms – such as Google, Netflix, or the predecessors of Facebook – were already active on the market in a similar form. In recent years a second wave of digital transformation is experienced and with it, a fourth industrial revolution. The necessary information and communication technologies have now become so cost-effective that they can be used in widespread areas. As a result, many of the dot-com promises have been realized today. The aim of this paper is to intensify the Industrie 4.0 debate in economic geography by showing the evolutionary and disruptive potential of Industrie 4.0.

    Keywords: Industrie 4.0, fourth industrial revolution, digitalization, Internet of Things, economic geography, Europe.

  • Éva Kiss ,
    Erzsébet Nedelka :

    Abstract: In the short history of Hungarian industry there were relevant changes several times, which had a great impact not only on industrial production and employment, but also on the spatial pattern of industry. After the regime change and latest economic crisis Industry 4.0 or/and the fourth industrial revolution mean(s) newer challenge. Due to information and communication technologies (ICT), which can be considered the basis of Industry 4.0 radical changes can be expected in all fields of life and numerous questions will emerge. The primary aim of this paper is to reveal the geography of older and newer information and communication technologies and their relationship with the spatial pattern of Hungarian industry. The main question is whether the digital divide follows the industrial divide in the Hungarian economic space or not. According to the analysis based on different ICT and industrial indicators, there is no close correlation between the digital and industrial spaces. The geography of Industry 4.0 is characterised by a sharp North–South division.

    Keywords: Industry 4.0, fourth industrial revolution, ICT, industry, enterprise, spatial pattern, Hungary

  • Martin Haider :

    Abstract: The aim of this paper is to capture the changed location decision-making processes and location factors of the automotive industry, resulting from the current challenges brought by electro mobility. From the Taylorist assembly-line production system in the “Fordism” era to the just-in-time focused manufacturing of the Japanese carmakers during “post-Fordism” and at the turn of the millennium with global production and new technologies in the digital age, location analysis has changed massively over time. The same is to be expected for the fourth revolution in the industry. For this reason, the decision-making process of a major German car manufacturer is analysed in a field study conducted over a two-year period. Based on this, a decision process that takes the new framework conditions into account is modelled. The relevant location factors are then examined in a survey of the relevant departments in the BMW Group. Due to the changed production requirements in the course of the electrification, the uncertainty in the technological change and the unstable political trading conditions, the factors: network suitability, risk exposure, optimal sunk cost usage and sustainability play central roles. Before the latest economic crisis, the industry was focused on exploiting opportunities and expanding the production network. This tendency now seems to be transformed by a volatile technological future and by cost pressure. This means that ‘sustainability’ is increasingly important in automobile industry decision-making, but in specific ways.

    Keywords: automotive industry, location decision, network suitability, restructuring, sustainability, BMW Group

  • Ernő Molnár ,
    Gábor Kozma ,
    Márk Mészáros ,
    Éva Kiss :

    Abstract: The present study focuses on the geographical investigation of the automotive industry in Hungary that has been integrated into the global production networks as a relevant sector of the reindustrialization in East- Central Europe. The aim of the paper is to reveal the dominant spatial trends in this sector since the economic crisis of 2008, and how these are connected to the issue of upgrading influenced also by digitalization. The analysis is primarily based on the official industrial employment data however other secondary sources are also used. It has been stated that the growth of the Hungarian automotive industry showing to the direction of geographical concentration and expansion is accompanied by the regional stability of the sector. Quality indicators expressing upgrading indicate correlation with the spatiality of car factories and Tier 1 suppliers carrying out more complex activities, but a more significant functional upgrading is only realised in the capital city with increasingly research-development focused profile. Results suggest only moderate upgrading despite the gradual adaptation of Industry 4.0 technologies.

    Keywords: Industry 4.0, upgrading, automotive industry, geography, Hungary.

  • Csongor Nagy ,
    Ernő Molnár ,
    Éva Kiss :

    Abstract: Industry 4.0 developing on the basis of digitalisation is gradually transforming production, the conditions of competition and relationships in global industry, affecting its interpretation and expanding its limits. This paper attempts to explore changing economic geographical context with the revaluation of comparative and competitive advantages in a semi-peripheral area of the EU. Based on company interviews, the effects of the new technologies of Industry 4.0 on the dual Hungarian manufacturing industry and its spatial structure are studied, and that whether they contribute to the reduction of duality and geographical polarization. In Eastern Hungary – just like in most areas in East-Central Europe – internationally competitive manufacturing companies emerged almost exclusively as a result of foreign direct investment, while domestic companies are forced into secondary or dependent roles. The empirical research has revealed significant differences in the progress of companies in Industry 4.0. Hungarian-owned companies evolve in a specific way from several aspects and face many difficulties. In contrast, enterprises with foreign interest continue to be the engine of development, driven from the “outside”. Duality is also reflected in the corporate structure, in space and in the realisation of Industry 4.0.

    Keywords: Industry 4.0, manufacturing, dualistic economy, enterprises, economic geography, semi-periphery, Hungary.

Other studies

  • Levan G. Tielidze ,
    David Svanadze ,
    Lela Gadrani ,
    Lasha Asanidze ,
    Roger D. Wheate ,
    Gordon S. Hamilton :

    Abstract: Individual glacier changes are still poorly documented in the Georgian Caucasus. In this paper, the change of Chalaati and Zopkhito glaciers in Georgian Caucasus has been studied between 1960 and 2014. Glacier geometries are reconstructed from archival topographic maps, Corona and Landsat images, along with modern field surveys. For the first time in the Georgian Caucasus aerial photogrammetric survey of both glacier termini was performed (2014) using a drone or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, where high-resolution orthomosaics and digital elevation models were produced. We show that both glaciers have experienced area loss since 1960: 16.2±4.9 per cent for Chalaati Glacier and 14.6±5.1 per cent for Zopkhito Glacier with corresponding respective terminus retreat by ~675 m and ~720 m. These were accompanied by a rise in the equilibrium line altitudes of ~35 m and ~30 m, respectively. The glacier changes are a response to regional warming in surface air temperature over the last half century. We used a long-term temperature record from the town of Mestia and short-term meteorological observations at Chalaati and Zopkhito glaciers to estimate a longer-term air temperature record for both glaciers. This analysis suggests an increase in the duration of the melt season over the 54-year period, indicating the importance of summertime air temperature trends in controlling glacier loss in the Georgian Caucasus. We also observed supra-glacial debris cover increase for both glaciers over the last half century: from 6.16±6.9 per cent to 8.01±6.8 per cent for Chalaati Glacier and from 2.80±6.3 per cent to 8.53±5.7 per cent for Zopkhito Glacier.

    Keywords: glacier change, glacier monitoring, supra-glacial debris cover, climate change, Greater Caucasus, drone survey, Chalaati Glacier, Zopkhito Glacier

  • György Csomós ,
    Jenő Zsolt Farkas ,
    Zoltán Kovács :

    Abstract: Access to urban green spaces and environmental inequalities are increasingly on the agenda in contemporary cities due to increasing density of people, widening social inequalities, and limited access to Urban Green Spaces (UGS). This is even so in post-socialist cities where recent urban sprawl and suburbanisation could be strongly linked to the scarcity of adequate green spaces in the inner-parts of cities. This paper examines the provision and accessibility of public green spaces in Debrecen, a second tier city in post-socialist Hungary, with applying a walking distance approach. Using GIS technology and socio-demographic data of residents the study assesses the availability and accessibility of green spaces in the city, and their social equity. According to research results the geographical distribution of UGS is very uneven in the city, some neighbourhoods lack public green spaces, while others are well-supplied. This is partly due to the natural environment and the post-WWII development of the city. Research findings show that the quality of residential green spaces is generally poor or very poor. Research also confirmed the widening environmental inequalities within the local society. New upmarket residential areas, where the wealthiest section of population reside are rich in high-quality (private) green spaces. Other lower-status neighbourhoods, including some of the socialist housing estates, suffer from the lack of good quality green spaces. Authors argue that environmental justice should be a core concept of city-planning considering not only the officially designated public green spaces, but also other forms of urban green (institutional, private etc.).

    Keywords: urban green spaces, post-socialist city, accessibility, residential well-being, environmental inequality, environmental justice, fixed walking distance.

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