Attitudes, images and peripheral industrialisation : a case study of Penang and Kedah, peninsula Malaysia
Attitudes, images and peripheral industrialisation : a case study of Penang and Kedah, peninsula Malaysia
The impact of regional policy in many countries is far from satisfactory, ways should therefore be sought to promote improved regional development within current constraints. The argument advanced in this thesis is that one way to do this is to gain a clearer understanding of the business community's perceptions of core-periphery systems, since this understanding should assist those engaged in regional development programmes to identify and overcome misconceptions which may seriously depress investment rates in peripheral regions. This study, therefore, seeks to provide empirical evidence of the relationships between perception and spatial investment process in such a system. To do so, it focuses on the Malaysian states of Penang and Kedah, which are core and peripheral regions, respectively. In particular, the study explores contrasting perceptions of the Kedah periphery, and of individual industrial locations within it. In addition, because officials play a key role in the implementation of policy perceptual contrasts between industrialists and local officials are also investigated. This empirical work is set in the general contexts of regional development theory and the long-term evolution of the Malaysian space economy; these subjects are the primary concern of early chapters in the thesis. These empirical findings demonstrate that, among other things, core industrialists' perceptions are far from uniform: there are many contrasting views of the Kedah periphery. Core industrialists' views often intensify as firms are asked to consider more distant locations. Peripheral industrialists also display considerable disagreement as to the attributes and handicaps of peripheral locations, and much of this is shown to be explicable by ignorance concerning locations other than their own. Meanwhile, local officials tend to overestimate the importance which industrialists attached to a significant number of factors influencing location decision-making processes; but on a location-by-location basis, perception contrast between these two groups are not outstanding. The results are discussed in relation to their academic implications and to their value for planners responsible for growth promotion in the periphery. Criticisms of the research stategy are advanced and opportunities for further research are outlined.
University of Southampton
1989
Morshidi, Sirat
(1989)
Attitudes, images and peripheral industrialisation : a case study of Penang and Kedah, peninsula Malaysia.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
The impact of regional policy in many countries is far from satisfactory, ways should therefore be sought to promote improved regional development within current constraints. The argument advanced in this thesis is that one way to do this is to gain a clearer understanding of the business community's perceptions of core-periphery systems, since this understanding should assist those engaged in regional development programmes to identify and overcome misconceptions which may seriously depress investment rates in peripheral regions. This study, therefore, seeks to provide empirical evidence of the relationships between perception and spatial investment process in such a system. To do so, it focuses on the Malaysian states of Penang and Kedah, which are core and peripheral regions, respectively. In particular, the study explores contrasting perceptions of the Kedah periphery, and of individual industrial locations within it. In addition, because officials play a key role in the implementation of policy perceptual contrasts between industrialists and local officials are also investigated. This empirical work is set in the general contexts of regional development theory and the long-term evolution of the Malaysian space economy; these subjects are the primary concern of early chapters in the thesis. These empirical findings demonstrate that, among other things, core industrialists' perceptions are far from uniform: there are many contrasting views of the Kedah periphery. Core industrialists' views often intensify as firms are asked to consider more distant locations. Peripheral industrialists also display considerable disagreement as to the attributes and handicaps of peripheral locations, and much of this is shown to be explicable by ignorance concerning locations other than their own. Meanwhile, local officials tend to overestimate the importance which industrialists attached to a significant number of factors influencing location decision-making processes; but on a location-by-location basis, perception contrast between these two groups are not outstanding. The results are discussed in relation to their academic implications and to their value for planners responsible for growth promotion in the periphery. Criticisms of the research stategy are advanced and opportunities for further research are outlined.
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Published date: 1989
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Local EPrints ID: 461495
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/461495
PURE UUID: c1a994d3-5d81-424f-b20a-00b96c2f674e
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 18:48
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 18:48
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Author:
Sirat Morshidi
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