Conference Agenda

The purpose of this study is to re-examine whether global sourcing is necessary and, if so, why, what, and where to procure it. In this study, I conduct a longitudinal case study of a Japanese company in the machine tool industry that grew from a small to a leading medium-sized firm in the industry by utilizing global sourcing. This case study suggests that by responding with flexible global sourcing, such as offshore sourcing of components, outsourcing of finished machines for the production and sales of complex models in combination with its own machines, and R&D outsourcing, while properly grasping changes in market needs both domestically and internationally and in each country and region, demand in Japan and overseas can expand cyclically through mutual complementation and interaction. To this end, it is considered necessary to have both intra firm and inter-firm coordination/collaboration relationships with organizations at home and abroad.

Location decisions play a crucial role in the firm success and are linked to their financial, environmental, and growth performance. This study emphasizes the importance of studying mountain regions as a location factor for manufacturing firms. It is estimated that over 12% of the Earth's surface is covered in mountains where over 550 million inhabitants live. To understand the impact of the mountain as a location; the economic and financial performance of manufacturing firms located in mountain regions is compared to the manufacturing firms located in non-mountain regions. The results indicate that manufacturing firms located in mountain regions have higher profit margins and labor productivity compared to their peers located in non-mountain regions. These results confirm the importance of elevation in location selection decisions and recommend that firms should consider operating manufacturing facilities in mountain regions.

This study was funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU, in the framework of the iNEST - Interconnected Nord-Est Innovation Ecosystem ( iNEST ECS00000043 – CUP I43C22000250006). The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, nor can the European Union be held responsible for them.

This manuscript is about the role of key enabling-technologies in the execution and implementation of the decisions of production locations called manufacturing relocation decisions i-e reshoring, near-shoring, and back-shoring. The literature provides many reshoring drivers and motivations e.g. cost, quality, technology, innovation and material-availability. The significance of technology in relocation decisions is always getting attention, KETs play a vital role in supporting reshoring decisions. The qualitative research which is case-study based with open-ended unstructured interviews with the representatives of reshoring companies based on technological advancement. The findings show the list of effective key enabling technologies and how the companies took advantage of KETs to achieve goal of manufacturing relocation.

Reshoring and circular economy have been analyzed in literature as two separate phenomena. This working paper explores the links between reshoring and the adoption of circular economy practices, as well as the enabling conditions for their joint implementation. Through a longitudinal case study of a British manufacturing company that has already implemented both reshoring and circular economy, this paper aims to uncover shared drivers, prevalent challenges, and potential synergies. Leveraging insights from Resource Orchestration Theory, the analysis spells out the underlying dynamics of these phenomena. Preliminary findings underscore the pivotal role of resource orchestration by the focal firm in the success of both initiatives and suggest that reshoring acts as a catalyst for embracing circular economy practices. The study concludes by proposing a framework delineating the complementarities between reshoring and circularity that can guide future research as well as managerial action.