Relationship Between the Relocation and Operation of Global Firms

The authors address the importance of the operation of manufacturing networks in order to explain why a company brings its previously offshored facilities back. Fundamentally, this chapter stresses the relevance of network operations in the context of relocation, and hence, the linkage of network-manufacturing capabilities to the reshoring phenomenon. First, it focuses on investigating the relevance of strategic objective of international manufacturing to the management/network operations of international manufacturing network (IMN). Second, it explores the role of strategic capabilities of network-manufacturing on the phenomenon of reshoring. The empirical foundation of this research builds on data from multiple in-depth interviews at companies' headquarters in Spain and Sweden. The results showed the relevance of strategic capabilities of network-manufacturing to reshoring. The authors also provide the guidance for decision making in the operation of international manufacturing.