Global Sourcing Strategy: An Evolution in Global Production and Sourcing Rationalization

Masaaki Kotabe, Janet Y. Murray

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

Increased global sourcing of manufacturing and service activities from independent suppliers has been a prominent part of the restructuring of firms’ supply chains since the 1980s. Academics and consulting companies have advocated global sourcing as one of the key drivers of superior corporate strategy that has a direct impact on marketing performance, including market share, product quality, customer satisfaction, and brand loyalty, among others. In this chapter we first discuss the trend and nature of global sourcing strategy as it has evolved in response to the climate of the time since the 1980s. We then discuss how global sourcing levels must achieve a strategic fit with the environment. Finally, we combine these balance and fit perspectives to suggest how changes in the fit alter the required balance in global sourcing over time. From this synthesis we develop several future research questions related to important conceptual and theoretical perspectives on global sourcing.
Original languageAmerican English
Title of host publicationAdvances in Global Marketing
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018

Disciplines

  • Economics
  • Marketing
  • Business

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