Associated PhD project
Project of the Postgraduate Research Group of the Hans Böckler Foundation
Social Consequences of the Transformation of the World of Work in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century

The West German shoe industry was already in a state of upheaval during the 1970s. Many companies filed for bankruptcy or disappeared altogether. But in contrast to leather workers, who lost their jobs gradually, the demand for technicians and buyers grew. At the same time, more and more companies were relocating parts of the production process to other European countries or even further away. These developments were intertwined, as well-trained skilled employees with commercial or technical qualifications became increasingly important for the clothing sector and still are today.

This project follows the footsteps of the German shoe industry abroad, tells the story of the companies and their employees. The technicians were responsible for the organization, supervision, and outsourcing of production, initially within Europe and later in Asia. At the same time, I will also trace the development of medium-sized companies. In the context of rising (labor) costs, the German companies increasingly engaged in business activities in (non-)European countries. As a result, German shoe companies began to outsource to shoe factories in low cost countries. However, requirements regarding the quality of the final product of the shoe persisted, as otherwise, local consumers would not buy the product connected with a brand. Furthermore, German clients had to familiarize their business partners abroad with their quality standards. Starting with the Federal Republic of Germany, this project analyses the business practices of the German shoe industry in India, Hungary, (Post-)Yugoslavia, the GDR, the (Post-)Soviet Union, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China.

In addition, changes in the production countries led companies to make internal decisions in favor of a new production location or against an existing one. The economic upheavals at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s in the (Eastern) European countries were the most significant impacts, but not the only ones, for German companies and their employees.

The PhD project is supervised by Prof. Dr. Frank Bösch (first supervisor) and Priv.-Doz. Dr. Winfried Süß (second supervisor).