Purpose Against the recent trend toward reversed global outsourcing, the purpose of this paper is to provide insights on how the internal process can be handled once the decision on reverse outsourcing has been made. The authors focus in particular on in-house knowledge and technology requirements. Design/methodology/approach To explore the topic at hand, the researchers conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with five companies operating in two different industry sectors. Findings Reversed outsourcing accentuates challenges relating to retained knowledge. When embarking on reversed outsourcing, companies need to acknowledge the effort to revive and renew capabilities in order to perform technical operations and advanced manufacturing production. Research limitations/implications The research is based on case studies in a Scandinavian context. Further empirical research from other high-cost locations is needed to validate the findings. Originality/value Explorative qualitative research is scarce in the emergent literature on reversed outsourcing. The paper provides practical and theoretical insights into how to handle diminishing knowledge in companies that are re-evaluating their sourcing strategies. It adds a knowledge dimension within the emergent literature. A framework for key success factors and propositions is also provided.

This study develops and tests a theory-driven conceptual model that explains variations in collaborative supply risk mitigation. It is based on data collected from manufacturing firms in Norway. The results show that collaborative risk identification, perception of supply risks, and overall focus on mitigating disruptive risks have a significant direct effect on collaborative supply risk mitigation. Further, an increase in collaborative risk identification strengthens the effect that perceived supply risk has on the level of collaborative risk mitigation, while supplier performance weakens the effect of perceived supply risk on the level of collaborative supply risk mitigation. Finally, the importance-performance map analysis shows that collaborative risk identification and the buying firm's overall focus on mitigating disruptive risks are the most important factors to explain variations in collaborative risk mitigation efforts. On the basis of the results, relevant theoretical implications are discussed and actionable managerial recommendations are provided.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to delineate key aspects of backshoring readiness and discuss how such aspects contribute to a smooth shift-back from global sourcing operations. It aims to answer the following questions: which factors constitute backshoring readiness and how these factors affect the backshoring transition. Design/methodology/approach Based on theory departure from the organizational readiness field and the emerging field on backshoring, a conceptual model is developed. A multiple qualitative case study is then conducted to exemplify the backshoring readiness factors delineated in the study. Findings The study indicates that due to previous outsourcing, limitations concerning the availability of firms’ capabilities are affected by ownership structures and that backshoring appears to be time-sensitive. The study delineates three key aspects of backshoring readiness and proposes a comprehensive understanding of readiness as an important construct to enhance successful backshoring. Research limitations/implications The findings are limited by the nature of this conceptual study, the restriction to a high-cost context and the small number of cases. Therefore, conclusions and proposed recommendations need to be further investigated in preferably larger samples of case studies. Practical implications By introducing contextual variables that go beyond traditional cost considerations, this work should be of special interest for both practitioners and academics, because the absorptive capacity for the exploitation of cutting-edge knowledge is globally scarce and hence rather expensive in Western countries compared with traditionally low-cost countries. Another practical contribution of this study is the conceptual backshoring readiness framework itself, as it can guide firms acquainting themselves with the resource availability in their home environment. Originality/value The research defines key resources needed to facilitate backshoring readiness in a conceptual framework developed from literature, which is then exemplified by a case study. This framework conceptualizes backshoring readiness as aspects of requirements to knowledge, technology and supplier infrastructures. Furthermore, the readiness framework developed provides firms and their managers with six recommendations that can enable a rigorous evaluation of a firm’s readiness to embark on backshoring and reflect on the aspect of fitness of its current strategies.

Abstract. Recently, the interest in the phenomenon of backsourcing has increased, which has been inspired by awareness of the real costs of global outsourcing and the importance of keeping manufacturing in-house or in geographical proximity. However, backsourcing research is still in its infancy. In particular, this strategy requires a successful knowledge re-integration process when organizations employ backsourcing as their new sourcing strategy, which is addressed in this paper. To expand the understanding of backsourcing, a literature review of this phenomenon is given, and based on findings from a case company in the Norwegian shipbuilding industry, we present critical success factors for knowledge re-integration when bringing manufacturing back in-house.

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