Backshoring of production in the context of a small and open Nordic economy

The paper focuses on Finnish companies that have brought their production back in the country during the period 2010-2015. Results are based on a survey carried out in Fall 2015 to characterize the backshoring phenomenon in some Nordic countries. The respondent sample is composed by 229 firms, of which 34% realized some production movements while 13% of them has reshored their production. Firms brought their production back mostly from Western Europe (especially Nordic countries), Eastern Europe and China. The phenomenon is widespread in several industries, but mainly in relatively high technology ones. Reshoring drivers include operative factors (flexibility, quality) and the ones related to knowledge and capabilities (access to skills and knowledge, proximity to R&D and product development, and time-to-market). When compared to other countries findings, Finnish companies seems to have a higher rate of reshoring decisions.