1,721,061 research outputs found
International Purchasing Offices: an empirical research
Full text linkGli International Purchasing Office (IPO) rivestono un ruolo sempre più importante nella gestione delle attività di international sourcing, sia nei paesi sviluppati che in quelli in via di sviluppo. Adottando la metodologia multiple case study, il progetto di ricerca cerca di rispondere alle seguenti domande: 1) Che tipologie di IPO esistono? 2) Come un IPO può diventare strategico per l’impresa a cui appartiene? 3) Come un IPO si evolve
International Purchasing Offices: Literature review and research directions
No full textInternational Purchasing Offices (IPOs) of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) now play an increasingly important role in the management of international sourcing activities, both in developed and in emerging economies. None of the literature reviews published on topics such as “international sourcing”, “global operation” or “international supply chain management” has addressed the literature developed in twenty years of research concerning this organizational strategy. This paper, based on the analysis of 56 works, published between 1992 and 2011 in the form of scientific and practitioners’ journal papers, books, and government reports, provides the first comprehensive literature review on the “International Purchasing Offices” topic. The main issues (i.e. IPO definition, activities performed by IPOs, location choices, strengths, weaknesses and human resources management) are identified and a conceptual framework is proposed. Building on this, some methodological weaknesses of the existing works and some gaps in the literature are discussed. The work concludes by suggesting several future research directions
L’internazionalizzazione degli approvvigionamenti: Il ruolo degli International Purchasing Offices
No full textThe effects of SA8000 certification on firm performances: An empirical analysis
No full textThe impact of CSR practices on firm performances has been attracting considerable attention since late 1980s. No agreement has however been reached so far about this (positive, negative, or neutral) impact. This paper studies – through secondary longitudinal balance sheet data – the effects of one of the most important ethical third-party certification standards (i.e., SA8000) on economic-financial performances and the factors affecting them. We highlight that SA8000 certification positively affects labour productivity and sales performances but has no effect on profitability. Some home country cultural features are shown to moderate the relationship between SA8000 and profitability
Domestic vs. foreign plants: an empirical investigation
No full textA wide literature analyses motivations, forms, and evolutionary paths of foreign investments in manufacturing. A specific research stream deals with the configurations of foreign manufacturing subsidiaries, identifying their distinct roles. The theoretical perspectives of these contributions are heterogeneous; however, most of them assume that the configurations of foreign and domestic plants are different. This paper aims at testing this assumption through data of an international research project.
The study compares domestic and foreign plants in a number of structural characteristics, highlighting some differences. Then, using clustering techniques, it identifies four clusters both in the ‘foreign’ and in the ‘domestic’ subsample and compares them. Finally, it analyses the distribution of domestic and foreign plants among the identified clusters. The analysis shows that the identified clusters are quite similar in the two subsamples but the distribution of plants among them significantly differs: the more advanced profiles are more frequent in the ‘foreign’ subsample than in the ‘domestic’ one
Countertrade: Compensatory Requests to Sell Abroad
No full textThe term 'countertrade' refers to a set of (commercial) agreements between a buyer and a seller in which the primary transaction is accompanied by a variety of additional conditions. This trade form is very relevant: the estimates provided by the literature show that up to 30% of the total value of international transactions depends on these agreements (Hammond, 1990; Forker, 1996; Hennart and Anderson, 1993). Most of the existing studies focus on some countertrade forms (mainly barter and counterpurchase) and mainly analyse legal or macroeconomic aspects of these agreements, whilst analyses of their organisational and managerial implications are rare. The purpose of this work is to develop the first classification of the compensatory requests used in 'offset' agreements, which are among the most important, complex and least-documented countertrade forms. The study is also aimed at identifying some unexplored issues to be analysed in future researches
Domestic vs foreign plants: does this distinction really matter?
No full textA wide literature analyzes motivations, forms and evolutionary paths of foreign investments in manufacturing. A research stream deals with the configurations of foreign manufacturing subsidiaries, identifying their “distinct specialties”. The theoretical perspectives of these contributions are quite various, anyway many of them
assume that the configuration choices of international and domestic manufacturing bases are different or, in other words, that the distinction between domestic and foreign
plants may be significant. This paper aims at testing this assumption through data of the international research project HPM. The study identifies some profiles in the two subsamples (domestic and foreign plants) and compares them in a number of (infra)structural characteristics. The analysis shows that the current debate tends to overstate this distinction
Technological trends in mountain logistics: A patent analysis
Full text linkTransportation and logistics in mountain regions are difficult due to the harsh weather conditions and complex
terrain. It is crucial to have specialized expertise and advanced technologies to tackle such challenges. However,
the field has unexplored domains, and available solutions are not holistically charted, necessitating a nuanced
understanding of the innovation landscape and growth trajectories. This study aims to undertake a patent
analysis on mountain transportation and logistics to unveil emerging trends, map technological advancements,
and contribute to enhancing transportation systems. Relevant patent documents were extracted from the Der-
went Innovation Index database through a keyword search combined with specific International Patent Classi-
fication categories. From these documents, technological fields were identified and grouped using the Latent
Dirichlet Allocation technique, resulting in 12 clusters. Among them, seat and suspension control systems,
intelligent vehicle control systems, electrical systems and electric vehicles, bicycle frame design, and safety
devices are likely to attract notable interest in the future. The findings contribute to the academic discourse and
hold practical implications for industry and policy stakeholders, offering a nuanced understanding of techno-
logical trends crucial for addressing transportation challenges in mountain terrains
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