Factors influencing the export performance of the Scottish manufacturing sector of the offshore supplies industry
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Date
1982Author
Gregory, Paul D.
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Abstract
The development of the oil and gas resources discovered on the
U.K. Continental Shelf has had a significant impact on employment
in Scotland. It is estimated that in Scotland 60,000 - 70,000
people are currently in oil-related employment. Approximately
20,000 of these are employed in (over 300) units manufacturing
offshore-related equipment.
However, it is argued in this thesis that domestic demand for many
items of offshore-related equipment will fall from around 1982 onwards
as the number and size of new field developments being undertaken
declines. It is further argued that if offshore-related employment
is to be maintained in Scotland it is to be hoped that manufacturers
of offshore-related equipment can identify and exploit opportunities
in offshore markets overseas by means of exporting.
It has frequently been suggested that involvement in the development
of North Sea oil fields has given indigenous firms a comparative
advantage over their international competitors. However, very little
is known about the nature and scale of offshore-related exporting
activity being undertaken and virtually nothing about the factors
which influence the aims and attainment of these firms with respect
to exporting. Thus, this thesis represents the first major study of
the practice of exporting in the Scottish manufacturing sector of the
offshore supplies industry.
The main objective of the thesis was to undertake a detailed examination
of the major factors influencing the export performance of this sector
of Scottish industry. This was achieved by means of a series of
in-depth, qualitative interviews with the senior executives responsible
for exporting strategy in a number of offshore-related manufacturers.
In addition, further research was undertaken to investigate possible
future trends in the exporting activity of the surveyed firms. In
order to do this it was first necessary to develop, with the aid of a
survey of expert opinion, a hypothetical scenario of the global
offshore market in the period to 1985. The third and final phase of the fieldwork then consisted of returning to the original sample of
offshore-related manufacturers to discuss their expected strategy
(particularly with respect to exporting) in the period to 1985,
given the market situation presented in the scenario.
Thus, this thesis provides not only the first in-depth study of the
major factors influencing the offshore-related export performance of
Scottish manufacturers, but also investigates the implications of
these findings for the future of the Scottish manufacturing sector
of the offshore supplies industry in the period to 1985.