Outsourcing concerns the reduction of processing depth by outsourcing to
supplier and subcontractors. Individual process steps are increasingly handled
by subcontractors both at home and abroad and production is becoming based
on networks of enterprises. For example, Cremers (in this issue) analyses this
trend in detail for the construction industry, showing that the sector is increasingly
dominated by fragmented production chains headed by large multinational
construction fi rms that engage large numbers of smaller fi rms as well as
individuals to perform particular tasks within the chains. Miller (in this issue)
also shows that in the apparel industry production is largely organized along
buyer-driven and fragmented supply chains involving a myriad of complex
multi-tiered contracting and subcontracting relationships. In both industries
the enterprises involved in such production chains range from multinationals to
small enterprises and individuals operating in the informal sector.