Over the last few years, several international studies have independently shown a significant correlation between the number and intensity of manufacturing practices in use and the performance of a firm. The conclusion is an unsettling: “the more the better.” This paper uses the Global...

Purpose – The textiles, clothing, and footwear (TCF) industry has struggled in Australia since the government commenced dismantling tariffs. By sourcing from Asia, middlemen undercut established suppliers, and retail chains set benchmark low prices with their imported “house” labels. The...

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to test the validity of national culture as an explanatory construct for international operations management decision‐making. Design/methodology/approach – National culture is multi‐dimensional thereby allowing for much finer grained comparisons...

Purpose – The aim of the current study is to develop an understanding of the decisional process that leads a company, at a given point in time, to choose the subsequent supply chain management (SCM) initiative to be implemented. Design/methodology/approach – This research adopts the...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate routes towards supplier and production network internationalisation. Design/methodology/approach – Multiple case‐study analysis has been applied to a sample of 11 Italian footwear and apparel companies with headquarters located in the...

Purpose – Despite geographical proximity, major economic differences exist between Western European countries and the formerly socialist Eastern European countries. The main objective of this study is to develop a better understanding of internationalization decision processes in this specific...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences in growth strategies – domestic and international – of manufacturing and service firms. Hardly any literature exists that empirically investigates the differences on account of the distinctive characteristics of goods and...

Purpose – The increasing importance that customers give to the aesthetic, symbolic and emotional value of products leads companies to approach the product design as a means to create a competitive advantage. Considering that competing through design involves the development of new product...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare supply network strategies of district firms (from now on ID) and non‐district (non‐ID) firms with the aim of outlining emerging strategies as well as identifying similarities and differences between business models....