Interest in back-reshoring strategies – intended as companies׳ decisions to reverse previous off-shoring by bringing manufacturing back home – has gained momentum recently. However, little is known ...so far about the magnitude of this phenomenon, about its geographical boundaries, and about the underlying motivations.
In this paper a characterization of back-shoring as part of the dynamics of firms׳ internationalization strategies is offered. Next, building on emerging empirical evidence, open questions are identified and an agenda for research is proposed.
•Differences between back-reshoring and related research concepts are identified.•Back-reshoring is considered a possible phase of the internationalization process.•Current evidence on back-reshoring strategies worldwide is summarized.•Research questions on back-reshoring motivations, modes and locations are proposed.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a synthesised conceptual framework for global sourcing (GS) strategy and structure.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt a systematic ...literature review method and analyse through content analysis techniques 52 peer-reviewed journal articles focussed on GS strategy and structure. Based on these analyses, a conceptual model is developed.
Findings
A synthesised construct of GS strategy, consisting of three dimensions, i.e., supply internationalisation, internal integration and external integration, is proposed. The GS structure construct is further broken down into structural design and control and coordination, consisting of three dimensions for each. Propositions for GS strategy, GS structure and, in particular, the relationships between them are developed for future empirical validation.
Originality/value
This is the first study which synthesises various dimensions of GS strategy and GS structure and advances/extends the theory of the strategy-structure nexus to a GS context. The conceptual model provides a comprehensive framework for future empirical work and opens avenues of research on this topic.
Setting up an international purchasing office (IPO) is one of the key steps for firms doing global sourcing. This paper aims to explore the relationship between strategy and structure in a ...contemporary global purchasing context. We build a theory of IPOs, employing a case study method to address two research questions—what types of IPOs exist in China? And how may an IPO become strategic to its parent's global purchasing? We identify three types or clusters of IPOs along four dimensions: motives for sourcing from China; global purchasing strategy for China; IPO structure and IPO followership. We present a causal model and associated propositions to explain how an IPO may become more strategic for its parent company. In the model we identify that, in addition to the direct link of ‘structure follows strategy’, IPO followership can be an underlying construct, linking IPO structure and global purchasing strategy for China. The paper opens up new avenues for global sourcing research and provides new insights for managers on global purchasing strategy, specifically with respect to IPO organisational design and capabilities.
A very important decision for multinational companies’ managers concerns what activities, phases and competences should be located in the home country and what could instead be offshored. Our study ...seeks to support them in this choice by answering to the following questions: (a) should the specializations assigned to foreign plants be different from those of domestic plants? (b) should key competences be held only in the domestic manufacturing base or also in the offshore one? We collect and analyze a wide set of data of an international research project, concerning competences and manufacturing practices of 236 MNC plants located in nine countries. We identify through cluster analysis different group profiles within domestic and foreign subsamples and compare the corresponding ones. We then compare domestic and foreign plants in a set of competences and manufacturing practices. Our empirical findings show that (a) the specializations (strategic types) of domestic and foreign plants can be substantially the same and (b) offshore plants rather than domestic ones tend in general to hold the most advanced competences.
The many scholars approaching Industry 4.0 today need to confront the lack of an agreed-upon definition, posing serious limitations to theory building and research comparability. Since its initial ...German conceptualization in 2011, both the technological landscape and the understanding of the Industry 4.0 have evolved significantly leading to several ambiguities. In parallel, similar concepts often used as synonyms − such as “smart manufacturing”, “digital transformation”, and “fourth industrial revolution” − have increased the sense of confusion around the scope and characteristics of the phenomenon.
This study approaches the issue through an analysis of almost 100 definitions of Industry 4.0 and related concepts. The review of academic publications has been complemented by a selection of the most influential non-academic sources, including governmental bodies and consulting companies. Each definition has been broken down into its underlying technological and non-technological definitional elements. This categorization will serve as a basis for future research to approach the phenomenon in its multiple facets.
•Lack of agreed-upon definition poses limitations to theory building and research comparability.•Industry 4.0 definitional elements have been identified analyzing almost 100 academic and non-academic papers.•Coding categories: label, scope, key enabling technologies, other enablers, distinctive characteristics, expected outcomes.•Findings serve as basis for three research directions and concrete implications for academia and practice.
•Confirmed trends: increasing relevance of data, servitization, sustainability.•Segment-specific trends: new production modes, reshoring.•Eight possible scenarios are formulated, as I4.0 is bound to ...context-specific variations.•Key drivers: demand characteristics, data transparency, additive manufacturing/advanced robotics, and smart products.
Industry 4.0 is expected to impart profound changes to the configuration of manufacturing companies with regards to what their value proposition will be and how their production network, supplier base and customer interfaces will develop. The literature on the topic is still fragmented; the features of the emerging paradigm appear to be a contested territory among different academic disciplines. This study assumes a value chain perspective to analyze the evolutionary trajectories of manufacturing companies. We developed a Delphi-based scenario analysis involving 76 experts from academia and practice. The results highlight the most common expectations as well as controversial issues in terms of emerging business models, size, barriers to entry, vertical integration, rent distribution, and geographical location of activities. Eight scenarios provide a concise outlook on the range of possible futures. These scenarios are based on four main drivers which stem from the experts’ comments: demand characteristics, transparency of data among value chain participants, maturity of additive manufacturing and advanced robotics, and penetration of smart products. Researchers can derive from our study a series of hypotheses and opportunities for future research on Industry 4.0. Managers and policymakers can leverage the scenarios in long-term strategic planning.
PurposeThis study analyzes the performance implications of adopting blockchain to support supply chain business processes. The technology holds as many promises as implementation challenges, so ...interest in its impact on operational performance has grown steadily over the last few years.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on transaction cost economics and the contingency theory, we built a set of hypotheses. These were tested through a long-term event study and an ordinary least squares regression involving 130 adopters listed in North America.FindingsCompared with the control sample, adopters displayed significant abnormal performance in terms of labor productivity, operating cycle and profitability, whereas sales appeared unaffected. Firms in regulated settings and closer to the end customer showed more positive effects. Neither industry-level competition nor the early involvement of a project partner emerged as relevant contextual factors.Originality/valueThis research presents the first extensive analysis of operational performance based on objective measures. In contrast to previous studies and theoretical predictions, the results indicate that blockchain adoption is not associated with sales improvement. This can be explained considering that secure data storage and sharing do not guarantee the factual credibility of recorded data, which needs to be proved to customers in alternative ways. Conversely, improvements in other operational performance dimensions confirm that blockchain can support inter-organizational transactions more efficiently. The results are relevant in times when, following hype, there are signs of disengagement with the technology.
This article presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of empirical studies concerning Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the field of Supply Chain Management (SCM). Over the past decade, ...technologies belonging to AI have developed rapidly, reaching a sufficient level of maturity to catalyze transformative changes in business and society. Within the SCM community, there are high expectations about disruptive impacts on current practices. However, this is not the first instance where AI has sparked business excitement, often falling short of the hype. It is thus important to examine both opportunities and challenges emerging from its actual implementation. Our analysis clarifies the current technological approaches and application areas, while expounding research themes around four key categories: data and system requirements, technology deployment processes, (inter)organizational integration, and performance implications. We also present the contextual factors identified in the literature. This review lays a solid foundation for future research on AI in SCM. By exclusively considering empirical contributions, our analysis minimizes the current buzz and underscores relevant opportunities for future studies intersecting AI, organizations, and supply chains (SCs). Our effort is also meant to consolidate existing research insights for a managerial audience.
•AI in SCM is subject to a potential hype: a substantiated view is provided by a review of empirical studies.•Five main themes emerge.•Future research should focus on framing disruptions and consistencies with established SCM theory and practice.
PurposeA positive outlook on the impact of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) on sustainability prevails in the literature. However, some studies have highlighted potential areas of concern that have not yet been ...systematically addressed. The goal of this study is to challenge the assumption of a sustainable Fourth Industrial Revolution by (1) identifying the possible unintended negative impacts of I4.0 technologies on sustainability; (2) highlighting the underlying motivations and potential actions to mitigate such impacts; and (3) developing and evaluating alternative assumptions on the impacts of I4.0 technologies on sustainability.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on a problematization approach, a systematic literature review was conducted to develop potential alternative assumptions about the negative impacts of I4.0 on sustainability. Then, a Delphi study was carried out with 43 experts from academia and practice to evaluate the alternative assumptions. Two rounds of data collection were performed until reaching the convergence or stability of the responses.FindingsThe results highlight various unintended negative effects on environmental and social aspects that challenge the literature. The reasons behind the high/low probability of occurrence, the severity of each impact in the next five years and corrective actions are also identified. Unintended negative environmental effects are less controversial than social effects and are therefore more likely to generate widely accepted theoretical propositions. Finally, the alternative hypothesis ground is partially accepted by the panel, indicating that the problematization process has effectively opened up new perspectives for analysis.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few to systematically problematize the assumptions of the I4.0 and sustainability literature, generating research propositions that reveal several avenues for future research.
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the relationship between environmental, social and financial performance. In particular, based on the literature, we hypothesise the existence of a 'sand ...cone' model of sustainability that implies cumulative and sequential effects among the three performance dimensions. The hypothesis is tested using the fixed effects model on a longitudinal dataset of secondary data covering the period 2010-2019. The dataset includes 661 companies operating in the manufacturing industry and located in Europe, North America and Asia. The findings show that environmental, social and financial performance do not conflict but cumulate. The sequence of performance improvements that outlines a 'sand cone' starts with environmental sustainability and ends with financial performance, while social performance fully mediates the relationship between the two. Any other sequence is not confirmed by the data. These results are however valid only in Western countries (i.e. Europe and North America). Based on these findings, this research informs managers that the three pillars of sustainability have a cumulative effect, but only if a specific implementation sequence is followed. However, managers should be aware that these cumulative effects need some time to show up.
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