Manufacturing relocation through offshoring and backshoring: the case of Sweden

This article focuses on offshoring and reshoring strategies implemented in Sweden from 2010 to 2015. Data regard 373 Swedish companies, and were collected through an exploratory survey conducted in 2015. Collected data show that firms offshore and reshore mostly in/from Eastern and Western Europe and China. Comparing the two relocation decisions (offshoring and reshoring) it emerges that while offshoring decision are aimed to efficiency seeking (especially in terms of labor cost reduction), backshoring ones are more connected to quality and flexibility driver, and to strategic asset seeking aims. At the same time, backshoring decisions are more complex than the offshoring ones. The backshoring phenomenon is facilitated by access to skills, knowledge and technologies, and proximity to R&D. Comparing Swedish findings with the ones of other European countries, the reshoring rate is higher.