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What such a map would have failed to reveal, however, was the changing nature of the connections put in place by Western films as they shifted work around the globe. It is often assumed that when Western films, or any film for that matter, reach out across borders to establish a factory outlet here, an assembly plant there or a subsidiary in some far-off location, they do so through directly investing and thereby wholly owning such facilities. In the 1970s and 1980s, among the low-cost manufacturing overseas operations, this was indeed often the case, but increasingly Western firms started to conduct their business at-a-distance through a variety of indirect means, of which subcontracting became the principle arrangement. Subcontracting is a way of putting out work to partner firms on a defined, contractual basis, where the tasks involved are specified precisely, as are the turnaround times and the quality of the finished goods. As a business arrangement, it is more flexible than owning factories overseas and more enforceable than a straightforward market exchange relationship.