The Persistence and Innovation of Craft Production: A Case Study of Houli Saxophone Industry and its Outsourcing Network

• Main Authors: Chun-hao Huang, 黃俊豪
• Other Authors: Ming-sho Ho
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/71910384181703096055

碩士 === 南華大學 === 應用社會學系社會學碩士班 === 97 === 　　Recently, the persistence of craft production has always been the question to be deeply concerned. The deskilling theory contends that labourers’ capability would be deprived. In the historical trend of “separating mental work from manual work”, it would be made up craft production disappear. Conversely, the flexible specialization theory contends that deskilling is limited, the tradition of craft would be preserved partly and become the important source of wealth. However, the flexible specialization theory rediscoveries the existence of craft production, but only bring up a weak explanation. Why would craft production be preserved in some industries, and be weeded out in others? Moreover, the original craft practice would not be preserved invariably, the content of craft would be always renewed in accordance with the variable external conditions. The fragmentation and outsourcing of process of production may be one tactics for the persistence of craft production. 　　 　　The research takes the Houli saxophone industry as a case, I investigated the masters and journeymen working in small assembly factories, family workshops and the contractors in the industry. Through this way, I try to reconstruct the transition of production regime and the following craft change from 1960s to 1990s. Since ZHANG LIAN-CHANG had produced the first saxophone by grassed R＆D, saxophone industry had rapidly changed it’s market form domestic to foreign. More than 50 years, in accordance with the fluctuation of demand market and the introduction of new technology, its production regime had continually been adjusted. 　　 　　This research finds, if taking the 1980s as demarcation line, before then, it’s production regime basically was a kind of “craft production”, after this, it had gradually been transformed into a kind of “flexible specialization”. In the kind of transformation of production regime, workers’ craft had been reconstructed as a result of the introduction and organization of new technology, this change had roughly followed the direction from highlighting the unity of craft to independent operation of different stages and skills. Craft reconstruction which had came with the of production regime then had caused a series of effects: the change of journeyman’s the substantive connotation, the appearance of piecework age, the change of workers’ mobility, the transformation of identification form and so on.