Exploring labour regime circulation: the dynamic circulation of capital and labour in Norwegian shipyards

Abstract This article contributes to the theoretical integration of labour regimes and global production networks (GPN) by introducing a conceptual distinction between the circulation of labour and capital. Using the Norwegian shipbuilding industry as a case, the article explores how the shipyards have strategically (re)combined these forms of circulation in response to changing national and EU regulations since the 1980s. The analysis shows how multi-scalar institutional changes in labour and capital mobility shape new configurations of circulation and trigger temporal shifts in production strategies and labour regimes, emphasizing the central role circulation plays in GPNs.