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The ability of an organisation’s headquarters (HQ) to bring value to and manage a globally dispersed multinational enterprise has been questioned in the existing literature. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that HQ-subsidiary distance is an important factor that affects such ability; this report also investigates the impact of distance on the HQ’s network management capabilities in the context of a global organisation’s evolution.

In this study, a single company was chosen to take part in a retrospective, longitudinal case study that highlighted two embedded product cases. The concept of distance was viewed as a variety of distance dimensions existing between the HQ and its subsidiaries.

The results indicated that distance impacted the effectiveness of the HQ’s network management capabilities by affecting HQ-subsidiary interaction and, consequently, shaping HQ’s knowledgeability about the subsidiaries’ operations. Moreover, the results suggested that the impact of such distance may shift from positive to negative over the course of a global organisation’s evolution.

Although this study was explorative, some generalisability to industrial-goods companies of Scandinavian origin that have transferred activities to their owned subsidiaries may be expected. Further replication of the study using multiple case companies across various industries and countries is desirable.

This work extends the understanding of technological distance, sheds light on the conditions necessary for the HQ of a globally networked organisation to engage in value creation in the context of its evolution and contributes to the overall appreciation of distance as a factor that comprises multiple dimensions.

The research aims to investigate how firms can develop their sensing capabilities for Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technology adoption through reframing their opportunity perceptions related to learnings from I4.0 initiatives.

The research follows a design science research approach. Following the case of I4.0 technology introduction at a large food manufacturer, the paper develops a theoretical framework (artefact) and validates the applicability and efficacy of the framework within the case study.

The theoretical framework highlights the different temporal (short-term/long-term) and locational (direct/indirect) value dimensions of I4.0 opportunities. The findings show that the use of the framework can shift managers’ perception regarding the business value of an I4.0 technology implementation. Specifically, the framework reversed initially negative perceptions around a narrowly scoped business case towards an opportunity-oriented attitude exploring further potentials of the technology.

The research adds to the debate when and why firms engage in, and sustain their I4.0 initiatives by providing a novel perspective on firms’ sensing capabilities. As a single-case study, the framework requires further validation in practice.

The proposed framework provides practitioners with an extended view concerning the potential value of digital transformation projects and serves as a conversational tool.

The presented wider frame for evaluating digital transformation projects, taking into account the more “intangible” value of their learnings, tackles the fundamental issue of translating explorative innovation efforts into exploitative value – a key challenge when dealing with innovation and one of the main barriers for the digital transformation.

In the context of transferring manufacturing knowledge to new locations, whether this is to parties inside or outside the legal boundary of a firm, a key problem remains, that it is often difficult to explain what operators really know, or why what they do really works. Still most attention is given to planning the physical move and to the explicit knowledge associated with normal operations. The paper argues that manufacturing processes rarely contain the necessary robustness that can be replicated in a new context. The transfer, therefore, should encompass a wider range of task situations and the associated sets of knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to develop a method that may help to identify and capture the knowledge tied to non‐normal task situations as a basis for supporting an accelerated learning at the new site.

Three case studies based on observations over one‐and‐half years and interviews (n = 59) with operators, management and technical support staff on both sides of the relationship, illustrate and support the developed model. A fourth case study is used to test the method.

The case studies show that the classification of task situations can be used in the process of identifying hidden knowledge.

The paper operationalizes knowledge tied to different task situations at the shop floor and shows that the non‐normal task situations deserve increased attention in the literature as well as in practical work of preparing for a transfer of manufacturing processes. The proposed method may help companies identify hidden knowledge and prepare a comprehensive training program.

The authors present a framework for assessing knowledge of various task situations and a method for transfer of non‐normal task situations.

The principal objective of this paper is to relate functional nodes of production and innovation in global operations networks. The authors aim to capture the implications of changing strategic roles and locations of manufacturing for innovation capabilities.

The authors draw on the operations networks literature and use mixed methods of enquiry, including case studies, workshops and survey techniques. Part of the empirical base of the study is a series of workshops and an examination of 14 Danish companies that have experienced radical changes in their operations configurations. To provide a more complete view of these developments, the authors complement the qualitative methodology with a survey of an overall sample of 675 Danish and 410 Swedish companies.

On the basis of the findings from the survey, the series of workshops and case studies of Danish companies presented in this paper, the authors find that although the potential benefits of global dispersion of manufacturing are vast, the realisation of these potentials depends on how successful companies are with linking the new strategic roles and locations of manufacturing with innovation at their home base. The paper identifies and discusses groups of capabilities important to this link.

Three propositions are developed to advance the understanding of the role of cross-functional coordination and alignment, as well as their significance in the strategic initiatives of global dispersion of operations. The findings assist global companies in organising cross-functional coordination and interrelated functional nodes of production and innovation in global operations networks.

Not only routine transactional tasks but also more knowledge-intensive proprietary tasks cross both national and organisational borders. The challenge of coordination in these emerging configurations is imperative which has not been adequately addressed so far. By using mixed methods of inquiry, this paper provides a more complete view of the phenomenon and presents the main dilemmas underlying it.

This paper aims to explore the effect of subsidiary autonomy on knowledge transfers during captive offshoring to emerging markets.

Five longitudinal cases of captive R&D and manufacturing offshoring to emerging markets.

The propositions entail the dual effect of operational subsidiary autonomy on primary knowledge transfer and reverse knowledge transfer. For newly established subsidiaries, operational subsidiary autonomy has a mainly negative effect on primary knowledge transfer and a mainly positive effect on reverse knowledge transfer and local collaboration activities increase this effect. Strategic subsidiary autonomy is mainly negative for primary and reverse knowledge transfer.

Limitations concerning the applied exploratory case study approach suggest that further research should test the identified relationships using surveys, after the initial pilot study.

A gradual increase of operational subsidiary autonomy as the subsidiary capability level increases is beneficial to ensure primary knowledge transfer. Allowing subsidiaries to collaborate locally within the confines of their mandates benefits reverse knowledge transfer.

This paper extends the secondary knowledge transfer concept to include knowledge flows with local collaboration partners, not only other subsidiaries and clarifies the distinction between operational and strategic autonomy concerning local collaboration. A subsidiary asserts operational autonomy when its collaboration with local partners relates to its existing mandate. A subsidiary asserts strategic autonomy when it collaborates with local partners beyond this mandate.

Many factors have been identified that may drive a firm’s decision to offshore production activities. The actual performance effects of offshoring, however, depend on the extent to which these drivers are realized. Furthermore, the question is how risk management helps mitigating the risk involved in offshoring ventures, thus leading to better performance outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which realized offshoring drivers and risk management mediate the relationship between offshoring experience and firm performance.

Data from the Global Operations Networks project, a cross-sectional survey administered in Denmark and Sweden, are used to test two hypotheses on the mediating role of realized offshoring drivers and risk management in the relationship between offshoring experience and firm performance. AMOS version 23 is used to perform the analyses.

The results demonstrate that realized offshoring drivers fully mediate the relationship between offshoring experience and firm performance. However, risk management does not mediate the relationship between offshoring experience and firm performance.

This study develops new theory on, and managerial insight into, the mediating role of realized offshoring drivers and risk management in the relationship between offshoring experience and firm performance.

The purpose of this paper is to determine how companies develop and acquire competences to capture the benefits of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies. The authors argue that this is a fundamental and often overlooked prerequisite for industrial transformation.

The authors conduct a process study of 33 small- and medium-sized companies engaged in the transformation of a manufacturing industry from the different perspectives of manufacturers or manufacturing solution providers.

Key findings indicate a strong link between the specific competence development approach, the specific intricacies of the application domain and the process outcomes. On this basis, a competence development framework is proposed.

The conclusions are drawn from a Danish population of companies in the manufacturing industry and are based on particular contingencies, such as low volume/high mix, high skill, low tech and high cost. However, the findings are believed to be applicable across different sets of contingencies where the need to combine legacy and emerging technologies is present, and where the human factor is central to leveraging technology beyond predefined supplier specifications.

In a time of extraordinary investments in the manufacturing of technologies in support of digital transformation, the development of strategic and operational competences to support these investments is lagging behind. This paper develops a conceptual outset for closing this gap.

The research is based on the fundamental argument that to efficiently apply new technology, a strategic approach to the acquisition of new knowledge and skills is required. The empirical research demonstrates that new skills and knowledge are often assumed to follow automatically from the use of new technologies. However, we demonstrate that this perspective in fact limits the ability to capture the potential benefits ascribed to I4.0 technologies. The authors propose that the competence strategy needs to be expansive and cover not only the technological competences but also the organizational- and individual-level competences. These results add to our understanding of how the digital transformation of manufacturing companies unfolds.

This paper aims to explore value creation configurations pursued by suppliers in high-cost countries. The proposed value creation configuration approaches are seen as means for supplier firms to strengthen their competitiveness when faced with increasing global sourcing.

Survey data on supplier firms in Denmark are used in a hierarchical cluster analysis. The identified clusters are interpreted as expressions of different value creation configurations pursued by suppliers with regards to relations with their most important customers.

Three types of suppliers are identified: detached suppliers, which seek to create customer net benefits through low costs; technology-focused suppliers, which design value creation around benefits linked to being at the technological forefront; and integrated suppliers, which share characteristics with technology-focused suppliers, but also align closely with a relatively broader range of customer activities.

Limitations include the specificity of findings from one small, open economy with an extensive supplier base.

For managers in supplier companies, the research suggest value configurations can be used as strategic templates for further specialization and as way to assess and address value creation potential in customer firms.

Previous studies tend to overlook suppliers’ developments of value-creating activities to maintain customer relationships. The paper takes a supplier perspective to deepen the empirically based understanding of value creation configurations followed by high-cost country suppliers in the context of increasing global competition and production relocation. Theoretical implications as well as lessons formanagers in supplier firms of the identification of the different approaches to value creation configurations are presented.