A Discussion on the Impact of COVID-19 to Industrial Location and the Implications for Location Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains and caused wide market disorders. Its disastrous impact on the world economy exposed the vulnerability of globalized production systems and led to discussions on the responses to such a crisis. These responses, including a new global spatial organization...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Geographical bulletin (Ypsilanti, Mich.) Mich.), 2024-05, Vol.65 (1), p.27-41
Main Authors: Jin, Yiwei, James, Ryan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
COVID-19
Economics
Exports
Global economy
Logistics
Pandemics
Shortages
Urban areas
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains and caused wide market disorders. Its disastrous impact on the world economy exposed the vulnerability of globalized production systems and led to discussions on the responses to such a crisis. These responses, including a new global spatial organization of supply chains, challenged our conceptual understanding, assumptions, and application of location theory in the spatial organization of economic activities. Through reviewing the literature, we outlined the pandemic's profound economic disruption and identified firms' applicable responsive strategies through Industry 4.0 solutions and management adaptions. Then based on the responses of technological upgrading we speculated possible changes in regional industrial location, such as suburbanization of small manufacturers and service providers, growth of industrial agglomerations in the logistic hubs and corridors and increase of high-tech manufacturers and innovation networks in urban centers. Finally, we pointed out the challenges to industrial location studies and suggested updating methodology and topics - using network analysis, behavioral theory, and agglomeration theory - for location studies.
ISSN:0731-3292
2163-5900