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Technological developments accelerating in the 21st century are making great changes in the automotive sector. Due to the reliance on technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, robotics, cloud computing and internet of objects, self-driving cars have an essential place in Industry 4.0. However, it seems that these technologies will change the global market share of developing and less developed countries’ in the automotive industry. The rising trend of reshoring activities of developed countries are expected to affect the global automotive industry. In this paper, we aim to investigate the impact of Industry 4.0 and the digital transformation on the automotive industry. Also, we aim to put a brief description of the social impacts of reshoring and how developing and less developed countries will keep or increase their market share in the global automotive industry.

This book traces how the current wave of industrial digitalization relates to processes of domination and emancipation. It aims to counter techno-deterministic narratives that would connect a perceived new 'industrial revolution' with clear-cut societal consequences. In order to do this, the volume intervenes into three ongoing discussions which pertain to emancipation and domination in the workplace , promises of emancipation through digital fabrication, and the idea of emancipating, configuring, and infrastructuring the users of industrial products. Within this framework it addresses topics including democratic participation, management thinking, gamification, the maker movement, reshoring, digital platforms, and the automation of healthcare.

In 2009, the consumer appliance division of General Electric pledged to move the manufacture of its GeoSpring water heater from China to the United States. Articles in popular and trade publications, press releases, and statements from local and regional governments, positioned the decision to move manufacturing of the GeoSpring as part of a larger movement: bringing manufacturing “back” to the United States, also known as reshoring. This chapter uses the case of the GeoSpring water heater to understand how the process of relocating manufacturing is portrayed to different stakeholders through its description/depiction across media. The central argument is that the rhetoric of reshoring acts on an implicit “us and them” dichotomy which places the interests of workers and economies in the developing world in opposition to workers and economies in the developed world. This chapter contributes a perspective which is currently underrepresented in the relevant literature: It engages critically with representations of reshoring in journalistic, promotional, and government texts.

Outsourcing activities to international third parties is a way to implement international development strategies. More specifically, it is a way to implement internationalization strategies for expansion when outsourcing is done in markets culturally close to the domestic ones, and for diversification when outsourcing is carried out on markets distant from the domestic ones. However, outsourcing is not always a first best choice, and more and more firms are revising their strategies and deciding for back- or re-shoring. This chapter discusses the factors firms should take into account in their outsourcing decision, and highlights the main risks connected to this choice.

The extra costs (hidden costs) incurred in international engineering projects are an element of great relevance from the perspective of project management. These costs have been analysed generally from case-specific perspectives, being necessary the development of a theoretical model that contemplates these hidden costs studying and explaining their nature. In this sense, it is interesting to take advantage of the growing literature on hidden costs associated with offshoring experiences (and originated in the new reshoring trend). Those offshoring experiences have great similarity with international projects as the problems faced come from the same international-related factors. Thus, this paper explores into that literature developing a theoretical model for the analysis of hidden costs applicable to international engineering projects. The model is based in the analysis of the causes of those costs, the processes affected and the final impact on performance. It is finally contrasted and validated with its application to three real cases of three international projects developed by companies of the energy sector. The model is this way proved to be a suitable theoretical basis for the study of hidden costs in international experiences, and the starting point for the definition of risk analysis models to prevent these costs.

In this chapter, we provide an analytical model of integrated risk management with capacity reshoring. First, we review the analytical models on integrated operations-finance risk management in global manufacturing. Second, we formulate a global supply chain model and propose an optimal integration of operational flexibility and financial hedging. Third, we study analytically and numerically the interactions between operations and finance. Furthermore, the main insights and suggested directions for future research are summarized.

Knowledge is a key resource in any organization, and during a reshoring process, transferring knowledge to the home market is crucial. This study offers an in-depth comprehension of the factors influencing the knowledge transfer process in companies conducting in-house reshoring. We applied a qualitative multiple case study approach of Swedish organizations that fulfilled the criteria for in-house reshoring. Similar to other knowledge transfer processes, knowledge transfer during in-house reshoring is influenced by cultural, linguistic, and physical distances. Furthermore, reshoring motivation has an impact on the actors’ knowledge transfer motivation. This investigation clarifies knowledge transfer in the context of reshoring, and exposes the challenges of knowledge transfer during reshoring. The study signifies the importance of understanding reshoring motivation for the success of reshoring. It moreover contributes to the research on knowledge transfer by providing evidence of the influence of the role of knowledge on the choice of knowledge transfer methods. In addition, the study extends the research on the reverse direction of knowledge transfer, in terms of in-house reshoring scenarios.

Increasingly, turbulent global market factors and the mature domestic market conditions dictate firms from the advanced nations (e.g., United States, Western Europe, Japan) to pursue reshoring strategy. Literature review includes articles that provide understanding on the relationship between offshoring and reshoring. Through case studies, we further examine reshoring strategy of Japanese firms in China. We discuss first the historical background of outsourcing strategy of Japanese firms from 1960s to 2010. The multiple case studies of Japanese firms suggest that successful reshoring strategy requires advanced planning for preparing right contexts and careful coordination of goals implementations in terms of strategic cost reduction, productivity enhancements and strategic alliances with suppliers in China. In this sense, the learning outcomes through offshoring in China are reapplied in achieving successful reshoring strategy. Another important finding is that reshoring strategy is to strengthen the mother factories at home base for their long term global competitiveness.

A common ground for many small businesses which are based and operate in Europe, capable today of standing against the waves of the globalization and the online economy, is the added value given by: (a) the quality of their services/products, and, (b) the trust they receive from their customers. Interestingly, such businesses are capable, in many cases, of maintaining the fidelity of a customer base, which is willing to pay more for their services or products when compared to what it would be paying when resorting to other channels. Such competitive advantage may be maintained as long as the quality of such services is high, one of the key factors that may also encourage and sustain the reshoring of many businesses to Europe. However, the quality of the products of many businesses is often hard to detect for a customer. Many exemplar cases may be individuated in organic farming and sustainable fashion and textiles. For instance, an average buyer may experience a very hard time when trying to distinguish at first sight an apple which has been obtained following organic protocols from one that has been produced following industrial procedures (e.g., use of chemical fertilizers). The same can be said for clothes, how may a consumer say whether given ethical rules and quality standards have been employed while weaving, knitting, felting, and braiding textiles? Because of these problems, in order to guarantee customers no malicious exploitations have been perpetrated, many of such companies resort to centralized and private certification programs. Unfortunately such certification programs can be expensive, long to implement, and even dishonestly exploited. In this scenario, we propose an integrated approach, based on two distinct and well-known ICT technologies, the Blockchain principle and sensor platforms, as a practical solution to preserve trust, increase the value of products and/or services and hence to encourage the reshoring of business activities. In particular, the model we here propose well applies to those business sectors whose actors share some type of immaterial asset related to the values that they convey with their products, which also, in many cases, represents their shared vulnerability point. Two exemplar business sectors where the proposed approach may be applied are represented by organic and sustainable productions in addition to all those which benefit from their association with specific geographical areas whose products, for given categories, are highly valued by customers (e.g., Made in Italy for fashion products). Because of the latter, the proposed approach may represent a viable pathway for the reshoring of companies from abroad.

In this chapter, we identify current trends in government sponsored programs, universities, industry, and private enterprise, technology development, and adoption. Taking a higher level view we predict how the technology will connect these sectors and where we will see the greatest impact in the next 5 years. 3D printing and AM technology have been in development for at least the past two decades with the hard work of science and engineering being done at universities, national labs, and within corporate research labs. Advanced manufacturing has seen large investments on the order of billions of dollars driving a higher level of activity and high profile of media attention. The global impact of additive manufacturing is gaining momentum with high levels of funding seen at the government, university, and major corporation levels. Emerging economies are seeing the advantages of developing AM capabilities without the burden of historical infrastructures and as a potential means to leap frog the development of costly infrastructure or creating an advanced manufacturing infrastructure well suited to regional needs. Business, commerce, intellectual property, global, and social issues are discussed and reference leading national and global intelligence reports. The author concludes with a summary of the trends and destinations of highest impact for AM metal technology.

In the latest years location strategies of firms are gaining growing attention due to the recent rise of reshoring announcements, which cannot be considered just an outcome of new political platforms based on protectionism. Most of them aim at coping with problems determined by unsuccessful offshoring decisions. But, when considering how to implement a relocation choice, namely in terms of geographical destination and in terms of governance of the new manufacturing footprint, several concerns rise and a wide array of relevant factors can be identified, which can drive the effectiveness of a reshoring project. In this setting, offshoring and reshoring can be seen as possible outcomes of a “rightshoring” approach, regarded as the decision making process that leads towards sound location decisions. This paper proposes and empirically tests a theoretical framework according to which factors that should be considered in the location decision making process are the following: (1) strategic alignment; (2) business environment’s factors; (3) firm’s specific factors; (4) contingency factors. The preliminary evidence stemming out from the case-studies supports our framework.

The aim of this paper is to examine economic and political grounds and consequences of near-reshoring and reshoring activities in Polish apparel and footwear sector. As the consumers and companies perspective is taken, the applied method is a combination of surveys conducted amongst Polish apparel and footwear companies and consumers together with some statistical analysis about the evolution of this sector in Poland and anecdotal evidence about reshoring and near reshoring activities. The paper contributes to literature by taking both a value-driven and a political economy perspective and enhances the understanding as to how reshoring and near-reshoring can both reshape business models and serve as smart tools of a new protectionism at the level of the national or regional economy.

This chapter sheds light on the reshoring of business functions. Policy makers and scholars are increasingly interested in the relocation of once offshored activities; however, the empirical evidence is mostly focussed on manufacturing activities, while very little is known about business functions that assist manufacturing activities. Using data from the Offshoring Research Network survey, this chapter provides some empirical evidence regarding the plans to reshore administrative and technical work. In particular, the chapter analyses the entry-mode, the home and the host country context, the business functions, the industries, the size and the performance of once offshored activities that are now planned to be reshored.

Since the 1990s there has been a significant trend in offshoring clothing production in the UK fashion industry. The trend of producing overseas has occurred with the aim of attaining lower labour cost advantages and is influenced by a range of factors, such as labour cost, the labour-intensive nature of the work, price pressure caused by other retailers, and unpredictable market demand. Recently, there has been increasing debate about bringing manufacturing back to the UK, especially in the clothing sector, in order to reduce lead-time and to provide better quality products. However, no research to date has addressed the implication for re-shoring in the context of country of origin. Thus, to fill this gap, qualitative research was undertaken to understand the concept of country of origin in the context of re-shoring as well as the implications linked to re-shoring. The chapter briefly outlines the changing role of retailers and manufacturer brands in the UK, highlighting how the differences between the two are blurring, while also outlining the different dimensions of country of origin in the context of retailers and manufacturer brands using a case study approach. Each dimension of country of origin, e.g. country of manufacture, country of parts, country of design and country of brand origin, also provides implications for re-shoring in the UK; this is supported by semi-structured interviews with key informants from the UK fashion industry. The chapter ends with a conclusion which summarises the study and provides avenues for further research.

Technologies embodied in the “Industry 4.0” concept are expected to heavily influence the competitiveness of countries, industries and companies. In this scenario, one of the most relevant technological transformations is represented by additive manufacturing technologies (AMTs). According to some scholars and practitioners, the adoption of such technologies may have a relevant impact on the location of production activities of many manufactured goods. This paper aims to verify the hypothesis that AMTs may act as an enabling technology for manufacturing reshoring, i.e., repatriation of (in-/outsourced) production activities earlier offshored. The paper adopts an explorative research approach based on secondary data belonging to the Uni-CLUB MoRe Reshoring dataset, containing information on more than 700 manufacturing reshoring decisions implemented by companies headquartered in the main Western countries. Based on such a dataset, eight companies were selected since they based their reshoring decisions on the adoption of AMTs. Findings from the analyzed case studies seem to confirm adoption of such technologies may contribute to the firm’s decision to repatriate production in the home country. At the same time, AMTs seem to influence the firm’s decision in terms of governance mode.

Redistributed manufacturing is an emerging concept which captures the anticipated reshoring and localisation of production from large scale mass manufacturing plants to smaller-scale localised, customisable production units, largely driven by new digital production technologies. Critically, community-based digital fabrication workshops, or makespaces, are anticipated to be one hothouse for this new era of localised production and as such are key to future sustainable design and manufacturing practices. In parallel, the concept of the circular economy conceptualises the move from a linear economy of take-make-waste to a closed loop system, through repair, remanufacturing, and recycling to ultimately extend the value of products and materials. Despite the clear interplay between redistributed manufacturing and circular economy, there is limited research exploring this relationship. In light of these interconnected developments, the aim of this paper is to explore the role of makespaces in contributing to a circular economy through redistributed manufacturing activities. This is achieved through six semi-structured interviews with thought leaders on these topics. The research findings identify barriers and opportunities to both circular economy and redistributed manufacturing, uncover overlaps between circular economy and redistributed manufacturing, and identify a range of future research directions that can support the coming together of these areas. The research contributes to a wider conversation on embedding circular practices within makespaces and their role in redistributed manufacturing.

Developed countries are still trying to overcome the consequences of the global financial economic crisis. The BRICS countries are doing this better as they have cheap resources at their disposal, on the one hand, and develop their hi-tech manufacturing via foreign investments, which strengthens the competitive power of these countries on the global market. Trying to prevent this situation, developed countries are applying such a form of a competitive struggle as returning their offshored assembly plants from developing countries to their own locations—this process was called reshoring. Using the examples of China and Russia, the authors discuss the following questions: What will developing countries do in the reshoring conditions and which measures will they take to protect their domestic markets?