Why and how do firms reshore? A contingency-based conceptual framework

While growing body of reshoring literature has focused on the question of why firms reverse a previous location decision, few contributions has been made on the question of how the reshoring decision is operationalized. The paper presents a conceptual framework that covers both why and how perspectives by adopting a two-stage approach. Contingency theory is used to identify the factors that influence these decisions. The framework developed in the paper is more comprehensive than other previous frameworks. First, a systematic literature review is conducted to develop an initial framework. Second, a new version of the framework is presented by using the evidence from a single exemplar reshoring case in the textiles industry. The authors identify new factors and extend a typology of reshoring decisions proposed in the literature based on the evidence, which reflecting the dynamic, complex, and incremental nature of the onshore-offshore-reshore location and ownership decisions.