Maria Carmela Annosi, Antonella Martini, Giacomo Marzi, Matteo Vignoli and Héctor Parra
This study aims to analyze what promotes the adoption of open innovation (OI) in the foodservice sector. Specifically, it seeks to shed light on the bottom-up mechanisms (the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze what promotes the adoption of open innovation (OI) in the foodservice sector. Specifically, it seeks to shed light on the bottom-up mechanisms (the microfoundations) that allow a foodservice firm to organize for OI.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design is an in-depth exploratory case study with 18 semi-structured interviews. The findings have been triangulated with documentation available on the corporate website, the project reports and direct observation. Data were analyzed using an inductive approach, coding individual interview transcripts.
Findings
This study identifies three categories of capabilities that have to be spread to different organizational levels: the capability to sense organizational triggers to change, to develop external collaborations and knowledge exchanges with different parties and the management's ability to be aware of organizational imperatives and the need to proceed with process adjustment. Results highlight the importance of sensing organizational triggers, allowing a quick switch between new strategies in implementing an OI approach. It was crucial for the company to co-develop new products and services with a large audience of stakeholders, not only limited to customers. The case remarks on the required ability of the organization and management team to activate mechanisms aimed at reconfiguring the competencies within each business unit, keeping an alignment with the needs of the stakeholders.
Originality/value
The study emphasizes the multi-level characteristics of OI and provides a framework for microfoundations on how to organize for OI. Results contribute to the recent debate on the skills and routines an organization should design and promote within their employees.
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Fabiola Bertolotti, Diego Maria Macrì and Matteo Vignoli
This paper aims to proposes a framework, labeled strategic alignment matrix, to attain organizational alignment by integrating the horizontal dimension of performance (results…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to proposes a framework, labeled strategic alignment matrix, to attain organizational alignment by integrating the horizontal dimension of performance (results driven by activities carried out by multiple organizational units) and the vertical one (results of single units) through the use of a sophisticated information structure composed by quantitative measures and management processes.
Design/methodology/approach
A science-based design approach was adopted. A review of the literature on strategic performance measurement systems (SPMS) and coordination allowed the identification of a set of design principles (guidelines reflecting the accumulated knowledge in the literature). The design principles guided the design of the proposed framework. The framework was tested in a tiles company on the new product development process.
Findings
Five design principles are presented for the design of a working SPMS as follows: to integrate the horizontal and vertical dimensions of performance; to have all the relevant information in one place (package); to understand how actors contribute to the overall performance; to favor the emergence of integrating conditions for coordination; and to enrich the role of quantitative non-financial information to attain inter-functional integration. During the test of the framework, managers highlighted the increased ability to coordinate actions and the existence of double-loop learning.
Research limitations/implications
The model was tested in one organization. The study should be replicated in other contexts connecting the strategic alignment matrix to the budgeting and incentive systems.
Originality/value
Working at the interface between science and design helps to address the theory-practice gap that has been a priority in management studies for long.
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Paolo Barbieri, Francesco Ciabuschi, Luciano Fratocchi and Matteo Vignoli
The aim of this paper is to analyze and classify research that has been conducted on manufacturing reshoring, i.e. the decision to bring back to the home country production…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to analyze and classify research that has been conducted on manufacturing reshoring, i.e. the decision to bring back to the home country production activities earlier offshored, independently of the governance mode (insourcing vs outsourcing). Consequently, the paper also aims at providing avenues for future research and to highlight the distinct value of studying manufacturing reshoring either per se or in combination with other constructs of the international business tradition.
Design/methodology/approach
A set of 57 carefully selected articles on manufacturing reshoring published in international journals or books indexed on Scopus in the past 10 years was systematically analyzed based on the “5Ws and 1H” (who-what-where-when-why and how) set of questions.
Findings
The authors’ work shows a certain convergence among authors regarding what reshoring is and what its key features and motivations are. In contrast, other related aspects, such as the decision-making and implementation processes, are comparatively less understood.
Research limitations/implications
As manufacturing reshoring is a “recent” topic, for some of its aspects, only exploratory research is available to date, limiting the authors’ possibility to either characterize it in a more exhaustive way or highlight well-established patterns.
Practical implications
The paper demonstrates that studying reshoring will indeed contribute to expanding our understanding of internationalization processes and strategies in general and of production internationalization specifically. While past studies have argued that the learning derived from international experience would permit firms to overcome their unfamiliarity with new business environments, reshoring might show that this outcome is not necessarily certain. Rather, firms might not be able to overcome obstacles because of internationalization or they might realize that attempting to do so is not desirable, e.g. because of excessive risk or changes in the firm’s strategic priorities.
Social implications
From a societal point of view, the present research underlines that reshoring can be part of that re-industrialization policy that many Western countries include in their economic agenda – yet, its impact on employment should not be overestimated, as often relocation is only in regard to some product lines. At the same time, there might be an intimate relationship between reshoring and the various forms of technological innovations applied to manufacturing – which has become popularly labeled as “Industry 4.0”.
Originality/value
Literature reviews proposed until now usually paid almost exclusive attention to motivations driving this phenomenon. This paper offers a broader and more comprehensive examination of the extant knowledge of manufacturing reshoring and identifies the main unresolved issues and knowledge gaps, which future research should investigate.
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Luciano Fratocchi, Alessandro Ancarani, Paolo Barbieri, Carmela Di Mauro, Guido Nassimbeni, Marco Sartor, Matteo Vignoli and Andrea Zanoni
The first aim of the chapter is to offer a characterization of back-reshoring as a possible step of the firm’s nonlinear internationalization process. The second aim is to review…
Abstract
Purpose
The first aim of the chapter is to offer a characterization of back-reshoring as a possible step of the firm’s nonlinear internationalization process. The second aim is to review the empirical literature on back-reshoring and to complement it with the findings of an extensive data collection.
Methodology/approach
In this chapter we adopted an explorative approach building on both theoretical and empirical literature from the fields of international business and international operations Management. We also collected secondary data on back-reshoring decisions in order to define the magnitude of the investigated phenomenon and to offer a primary characterization.
Findings
Our findings confirm that, though it cannot be considered a generalized trend, back-reshoring is a very topical issue for international business scholars. It represents an autonomous phenomenon consistent with the idea of nonlinear internationalization process.
Research limitations/implications
The chapter is based on cross-sectional data. Longitudinal research is required in order to address the proposed research questions and help understanding “how much” and what kind of manufacturing will be housed in western countries in the near future.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt to conceptualize back-reshoring as a possible step of the firms’ internationalization process. It is also the first chapter that summarizes and discusses the literature and empirical evidence on back-reshoring emerging from a wide range of countries.
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Luciano Fratocchi, Alessandro Ancarani, Paolo Barbieri, Carmela Di Mauro, Guido Nassimbeni, Marco Sartor, Matteo Vignoli and Andrea Zanoni
The purpose of this paper is to present a framework for the analysis of reshoring. The framework is then applied to analyze motivations for reshoring, as they emerge from extant…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a framework for the analysis of reshoring. The framework is then applied to analyze motivations for reshoring, as they emerge from extant literature and from new evidence collected.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors start by formulating a literature-grounded definition of reshoring and reviewing some key theoretical approaches for international manufacturing location. In light of these theories, the authors then propose an interpretative framework for the analysis of reshoring motivations. Finally, the authors provide new evidence on this phenomenon, by presenting the findings of an extensive data collection of reshoring cases built on secondary data.
Findings
The authors show that a vast array of single drivers of reshoring can be extracted from extant literature; however, the interpretative framework eventually highlights four main typologies of reshoring motivations, thus allowing for a more sound comprehension of why the phenomenon happens. The empirical investigation proves also useful in comparing the relative importance of these motivations, as it reveals that value-driven and country-specific motivations prevail over efficiency-driven and firm-specific ones, respectively.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on the analyses of secondary data extracted from newspapers and magazine sources. Some motivations (and especially those that configure a “correction of a previous erroneous decision”) could have been underestimated. In addition, certain industries (e.g. clothing and footwear), certain countries (USA and China), and certain firms (large companies and MNCs) could have more visibility to the media. Another possible limitation is due to the fact that the classification work inherently implied some discretion and individual judgment. The authors however spent considerable efforts in cross-validating the assessments through extensive discussion within the research team.
Originality/value
This is the first paper that summarizes the motivations of the rising reshoring phenomenon and interprets them based on an original theory-derived classification framework.
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Matteo Podrecca, Guido Orzes, Marco Sartor and Guido Nassimbeni
This paper aims to offer a long-term systematic picture of the evolution of manufacturing offshoring (in terms of intensity, geography and drivers) highlighting the changes in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to offer a long-term systematic picture of the evolution of manufacturing offshoring (in terms of intensity, geography and drivers) highlighting the changes in the surrounding context and the resulting transitions points (“points in time”) that have shaped its development path.
Design/methodology/approach
Three statistical tools were adopted on a dataset of 644 cases. First, the authors resorted to multiple structural change tests to identify the transition points. Second, the authors explored offshoring geography by conducting a network analysis. Finally, the authors adopted gravity models to shed light on offshoring drivers.
Findings
Results highlight three offshoring phases: expansion (2002–2006), reconsideration (2007–2009) and rationalization (2010 onwards). During the first phase, characterized by economic growth, firms were mainly interested in economic savings; offshoring to low-cost countries was the prevailing location strategy. Subsequently, during the economic crisis, the number of cases declined and the main drivers became market-based factors together with the research for cost savings. Finally, in the third phase, when the economy was still stagnating and new manufacturing technologies appeared, the number of offshoring cases has further decreased, and technological- and market-based factors have become the main location drivers.
Originality/value
The study is the first to adopt a systematic, empirical and quantitative approach to analyze the evolution of the manufacturing offshoring considering both the phenomenon itself and the triggering changes in the surrounding context. In doing this, the authors also tested the importance of considering the point in time in offshoring strategies.