Operational implications of manufacturing outsourcing for subcontractor plants: An empirical investigation

• Autor(a) principal: Sousa, Rui
• Data de Publicação: 2007
• Outros Autores: Voss, Christopher A.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/5305
• topic: Outsourcing; Subcontracting; Quality management; Supply chain management

Purpose – The objectives of this paper are: to identify the key defining elements of a subcontractor plant from an operations management perspective and examine whether there are differences between the operational contexts of such plants and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) plants; and to examine whether these differences should translate into different operational practices, addressing the specific case of process quality management practices. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a multiple case study involving five plants in the electronics industry representative of the OEM and different subcontractor contexts. Findings – Results suggest that the operational contexts of subcontractor and OEM plants are different and that, as a result, these types of plants should emphasize different sets of process quality management practices. Research limitations/implications – Results are considered to be generalizable to most discrete goods industries. However, future research should ascertain whether these results replicate in industries other than electronics. Practical implications – OEMs, who have a critical role in disseminating best practice within the supply chain, must recognize the differences between OEM and subcontractor environments and avoid pushing one-size-fits-all best practice programs along the chain. Originality/value – Research in outsourcing to date has focused on the outsourcing decision per se and has mainly taken the perspective of the outsourcer firm. This study contributes to a better understanding of the operational implications of outsourcing decisions for subcontractor plants. It also responds to calls for more research linking quality management and supply chain management.