Piore and Sabel

The publishing of "The Second Industrial Divide" prompted much research into unravelling the mysteries of the small firm and into the concept that changing market places favoured firms that used a more flexible and responsive production system. However much of the results did nothing more than to ignite the minds of the Piore and Sable critics.

In "Bolton Twenty Years On: The Small firm in the 1990's"

the author believes that the trends of flexible specialisation fits the patterns in some countries better than others. He alludes to the UK and declares that the shedding of labour by large corporations and not the "emergence of a new technological paradigm" is the reason for the emergence of so many small firms in the country.

Similarly in "Small Businesses and Society's", David Goss (1991) makes the bold statement that many of the advantages professed by small firms, such as better relationships between management and staff due to more face to face contact, is completely ill founded.

However the fans of the seminal masterpiece refute the criticism

However the most overwhelming piece of evidence on the status of Piore and Sable's theory in today's society is Sables newest work "The Ties That Bind The New Industrial Divide" (Sable 2001). In it he asks the question how can traditional artisan firms outperform giant technologically sophisticated corporations in the application of new technologies in diverse industries?

Secondly labour unrest in the 70's and 80's led many large corporations to decentralise, subcontract and take a more flexible approach to employing. The outsourcing of activities helped support the conception and creation of many niche enterprises.

of the sceptics. The works of Webster (1995) and Zuboff (1998) amalgamated offer three fundamental principals that reinforce the concept that underlies "The Second Industrial Divide".

In light of recent developments Sable now attributes the survival of craft industries to the professional education of craftsmen (through apprenticeships or courses similar in being to the Irish F.A.S. programmes) so as to enable the characteristic use of materials and tools of a particular trade to become second nature. Mastery comes with further experience, as the artisan is able to apply the familiar techn

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