Abstract
Flexible specialization presents many attractions both as an analytical tool and as a model for industrial development. Efforts to theorize and historicize the concept, however, have sometimes assumed such central importance for social, cultural and political factors that economic concerns have been obscured. As a closer examination of the German toy industry reveals, there are a variety of largely economic factors that also play a substantial role in the development and success of decentralized networks of producers. In particular, the expectations of consumers, the nature of available production technology and the number of components available for subcontracting all play substantial roles in structuring the toy industry. Once these economic considerations are included a fuller, more persuasive account of the origin and success of flexible specialization emerges.
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