Stages of global sourcing strategy evolution: an exploratory study
分析了国际采购决策、采购策略与供应商绩效之间的关系，基于55家美国制造企业的样本，发现采购专业人员花在管理供应商关系上的时间少于初始采购决策，这一差距既是机会也是威胁。
Abstract This paper analyzes the interrelationships between international sourcing decisions, sourcing strategies, and supplier performance. We first discuss the effect of global competition on the need for firms to seek international suppliers, and present a number of taxonomies that describe the evolution of global supply base development. The deployment of different commodity strategies (e.g., information sharing, single vs. multiple sourcing, contracts, and partnering) in conjunction with international sourcing is also reviewed. In the second half of the paper, we examine a set of international sourcing practices from a sample of 55 US manufacturing firms. Results suggest that US purchasing professionals are not spending as much time managing the ongoing buyer–supplier relationship as they are making the initial purchasing decision. This gap between ‘prescription’ and ‘practice’ represents both a competitive opportunity and threat for manufacturers.