Managing reversed (global) outsourcing – the role of knowledge, technology and time

The paper focuses on reversed global outsourcing decision analysing how firms handle the inhouse reintegration of the operations. Authors adopt an explorative approch based on 14 in-depth semi-structured interviews with five companies operating in two different industries. They discovered that back-shoring and reintegration of manufacturing activities within the company were implemented leveraging on the  knowledge base owned by the investigated firms and on their management capabilities. The reversed outsourcing decision reinforced the knowledge sharing within the firms and allowed more performing operations. The paper indicates four critical factors for a successfull operation: duration of outsourcing, knowledge base owned by the company, management capabilities and technology utilization. More specifically, authors found the longer an operation has been outsourced, the more difficult is to reintegrate it. However, if the company owns a relevant knowledge base and strong management capabilities the reversed outsourcing strategies may be successful. Finally,  the use of technology has a complementary effect.