BATON-CHANGING ON EGGSHELLS – TRANSFERRING SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS WHEN MOVING PRODUCTION

• Production transfers are a result of outsourcing and offshoring decisions. Though, because ofthe strategic focus of the outsourcing literature have not the operational issues of howrelationship development between sender, receiver and raw material been fully depicted. Thepurpose of the present paper is to explore relationship development connected to transfer ofraw material supplies responsibility during transfer of production. To fulfil the purpose, fourdifferent production transfers were studied: three from Sweden to China, Romania andHungary respectively and one transfer from Holland to Sweden. We can see that thedependence and power shifts gradually between the sender and the receiver and therelationship between them sets the arena for what relationship is developed between thereceiver and the raw material suppliers. Furthermore, short social distances can over bridgecultural and technological distances to some extent, because it motivates to take therelationship into a more developed state.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Samhällsbyggnadsteknik -- Transportteknik och logistik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Civil Engineering -- Transport Systems and Logistics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Supplier; large corporation; relationship development; distances

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)