Global sourcing practices: a framework to improve sourcing strategy implementation

The aim of the research reported in this thesis is to gain understanding of globalsourcing practices of companies in the UK and to develop a framework to improvesourcing strategy implementation. This research was conducted by carrying outliterature review, analysis of case studies through semi-structured interviews, analysisof an online-based survey, development of a global sourcing framework, feedbackprocess and finally the refinement of the framework.The global sourcing practices, in terms of eight critical success factors, which wereidentified through literature, was investigated through case studies. This research alsoprovides insights into how critical certain factors are to the effectiveness of thecompany‟s sourcing strategy and how broadly were those factors actually implemented.The gaps between the perceived importance of global sourcing practices and the actualimplementation were explored through survey. The information gathered from theliterature, case studies and survey provided the input to develop a global sourcingframework.As more and more studies create awareness of the critical success factors that areimportant for implementing a global sourcing strategy, there is a need for a frameworkto be developed to help a company identify areas where they can improve in terms ofimplementation of the sourcing strategy. The global sourcing framework was developedto assess the current sourcing level of companies, providing guidance for companies toidentify the areas for improvement in their approach to global sourcing and helpingcompanies determine where they need to be in terms of the global sourcing strategy andhaving it aligned with their corporate strategy. The framework has been validated andfound to be feasible, usable and useful to improve a company‟s sourcing strategy.