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Backshoring, offshoring and staying at home: evidence from the UK textile and apparel industry

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  • Patrizia Casadei

    (London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Geography & Environment
    University of Sussex)

  • Simona Iammarino

    (Università degli Studi di Cagliari
    London School of Economics and Political Science)

Abstract

Despite the rising interest for backshoring strategies by mass media, policy makers and public debates, academic research on the topic is relatively recent and still characterised by significant research gaps. Empirical evidence is scarce and often anecdotal, with a lack of studies focusing on specific industries and small-sized firms. Theoretical explanations are also fragmented with many unanswered questions. In particular, much of the existing literature has explored backshoring as a stand-alone phenomenon, independently from other production location strategies. In an attempt to fill these research gaps, we rely upon data from an original survey with around 700 firms from the UK textile and apparel industry to investigate different interrelated factors that influence backshoring strategies relative to offshoring and staying at home choices, within an analytical framework drawn from different international business perspectives, including operations and supply chain management. The paper contributes to the extant literature on backshoring by providing new empirical evidence based on originally collected firm-level data and focused on a single country and industry where smaller (and less studied) firms tend to prevail. Moreover, it helps strengthen the understanding of the phenomenon from a perspective which takes into consideration internationalisation as a non-linear process where firms adjust production location strategies based on a variety of changing conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrizia Casadei & Simona Iammarino, 2023. "Backshoring, offshoring and staying at home: evidence from the UK textile and apparel industry," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 2148-2173, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:opmare:v:16:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s12063-023-00394-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s12063-023-00394-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ancarani, Alessandro & Di Mauro, Carmela & Fratocchi, Luciano & Orzes, Guido & Sartor, Marco, 2015. "Prior to reshoring: A duration analysis of foreign manufacturing ventures," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 141-155.
    2. Celine Abecassis-Moedas, 2007. "Globalisation and regionalisation in the clothing industry: survival strategies for UK firms," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(3), pages 291-304.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Backshoring; Reshoring; Offshoring; Production location strategies; Survey research; Textile & Apparel;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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