No abstract

No abstract

Purpose Discussion regarding the implications of and antecedents to the decision to outsource manufacturing functions has dominated both the academic literature and popular press for over 30 years. However, economic and competitive landscapes across the globe have changed such that the tenability of outsourcing is being re-evaluated by many organizations. Using the rich body of literature regarding the decision to outsource as a starting point, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the reasons why firms insource and the associated implications thereof. Design/methodology/approach This case study research captures data from 12 firms in the manufacturing industry that have insourced a previously outsourced function. Data were collected via interviews with executives, researcher observations, and archival records over a nine-month period. Findings The findings suggest that the primary drivers for insourcing were predominantly the same as those cited for outsourcing. However, insourcing decisions are often made in response to a specific, external trigger event and not necessarily in concert with long-term, strategic goals. This is in contrast to firms’ desires to make more strategic location decisions. The findings also show that insourcing/outsourcing location decisions require continuous evaluation in order to optimize competitiveness and align with long-term firm goals. Research limitations/implications This research contributes by not only assimilating and gaining an understanding of key factors affecting insourcing decisions, but also by establishing a baseline for future investigation into this burgeoning area via the presentation of testable propositions. Practical implications This paper provides insights for supply chain, logistics, and operations management professionals who seek to better understand the critical factors that should be considered when deciding whether or not to insource. Originality/value The benefits of insourcing are being considered to a greater extent across industry, yet there is a dearth of academic or practitioner literature that business leaders and academicians can use as the basis for examining this decision. This research provides both the basis and motivation for developing knowledge in this area of increasing importance.

No abstract

Two-photon absorption in solids has become a common phenomenon in the last few years. Two-photon photoelectric effects have also been reported. 1 With regard to higher order processes in solids, however, only a threephoton luminescence effect has been observed (in naphthalene). 2 In this Letter we report the observation and study of a three-photon photoelectric effect in gold at room temperature using a Q-switched ruby laser (photon energy 1.786 eV). Gold has a (photoelectric) work function W = 4.8 eV, much higher than the energy of two laser photons (3.57 eV), but lower than the energy of three laser photons (5.36 eV).A TRG-104 Q-switched ruby laser generating light pulses of 1-J energy and 40-nsec duration was used. Before entering the photoelectric cell through a quartz window, the unfocused laser beam passed through two irises used to control the beam dimensions and through filters to eliminate the laser flashlamp light. The photoelectric cell was an evacuated brass cylinder used extensively here for the study of electron emission from solids under the influence of laser radiation and will be described elsewhere. The laser beam was incident on a stainless-steel mirror (on which a gold film was evaporated) at a 60° angle and was specularly reflected out of the cell through a second quartz window. The photoelectric current from the gold was multiplied with an electron multiplier which faced the mirror directly. The anode resistance of the electron multiplier was 51 £2, and the voltage signal across it was displayed on a Tektronix 547 oscilloscope through a matched cable. A beam splitter was placed in front of the laser and a portion of the laser light was directed to two RCA-922 photodiodes. One diode served to monitor the laser intensity while the other supplied the trigger signal to the oscilloscope.The gold films were evaporated on the stainless-steel mirror in an evaporation chamber existing in the laboratory and were transferred into the photoelectric cell within three minutes after evaporation. Only a very slight degree of contamination of the gold films is expected during their short exposure to the atmospheric air. Moreover, the gold films were prob-ably somewhat annealed inside the photoelectric cell in allowing the full intensity of the laser to hit them. Experiments in this laboratory and others in the past have shown that surface heating to very high temperatures results when light intensities of the order of several megawatts per square centimeter are incident on a metal surface. The gold films were several thousand angstroms thick. Figure 1 shows typical oscilloscope traces of the laser-light pulse and the resulting photoelectric pulse. Figure 2 shows the photoelectric current from gold as a function of laser intensity. The data points are the result of measurements on two different gold films. The laser intensity was controlled with Corning color filters and with neutral density filters. Both types of filters gave the same results, thus eliminating the possibility of any contriubtion from lumines...