From Offshoring to Reshoring: Analysis of an empirical case

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore both theoretically and analytically, through an empirical case, the main dynamics concerning companies offshoring and reshoring strategies. To this extent, the research will examine the main drivers that lead companies to undertake these strategies, along with the major risks associated to them. The study will also try to develop a more complete interpretation of the phenomenon, using an exploratory approach. The complex economic scenario of the last years has led many companies to delocalize production activities beyond national borders in order to be competitive in the global market arena. However, the constantly evolving economic reality has shifted the focus of researchers and economists to the recent reshoring phenomenon: the relocation of production activities, which were previously delocalized, back to the country of origin. The underestimation of the total costs of operations abroad and the misplaced decision techniques are only few of the factors that are leading companies to consider reshoring. These conditions, added to local production benefits, lay as the foundations of this new trend. The research is composed by a first theoretical approach, then applied to a more practical case: the manufacturing location decisions of a company in the footwear sector. Company data will be collect by qualitative interviews with internal experts. Through these data the study will try to model the reshoring process, in a theoretical framework.