Critical Operations Capabilities and Reshoring Drivers in a High-Cost Environment

Abstract

Reshoring of manufacturing to high-cost environments has been gaining attention. Several drivers are usually involved in the reshoring process. This process also requires manufacturing companies to assess their capabilities in relationship to the reshoring drivers. However, the connection between the reshoring drivers and the capabilities that the manufacturing companies have in high-cost environments has received little attention. The purpose of this study is to investigate the connection between the reshoring drivers and critical capabilities, through a transdisciplinary approach. This study was conducted through a literature review. The first step included the investigation of existing literature related to operations capabilities. The second step included the investigation of existing literature related to reshoring drivers. The third step included an investigation of the link between the critical operations capabilities and the reshoring drivers derived from the literature. Both sets of critical operations capabilities and reshoring drivers were linked based on their respective definitions. The findings revealed that there is a connection between operations capabilities and reshoring drivers. This study contributes to the development of both reshoring and operations capabilities research streams, and to practice by identifying the specific operations capabilities that can drive reshoring.