Global purchasing strategy and International Purchasing Offices: Evidence from case studies

Fu Jia, Richard Lamming, Marco Sartor, Guido Orzes and Guido Nassimbeni

International Journal of Production Economics, 2014, vol. 154, issue C, 284-298

Abstract: Setting up an international purchasing office (IPO) is one of the key steps for firms doing global sourcing. This paper aims to explore the relationship between strategy and structure in a contemporary global purchasing context. We build a theory of IPOs, employing a case study method to address two research questions—what types of IPOs exist in China? And how may an IPO become strategic to its parent's global purchasing? We identify three types or clusters of IPOs along four dimensions: motives for sourcing from China; global purchasing strategy for China; IPO structure and IPO followership. We present a causal model and associated propositions to explain how an IPO may become more strategic for its parent company. In the model we identify that, in addition to the direct link of ‘structure follows strategy’, IPO followership can be an underlying construct, linking IPO structure and global purchasing strategy for China. The paper opens up new avenues for global sourcing research and provides new insights for managers on global purchasing strategy, specifically with respect to IPO organisational design and capabilities.

Keywords: International purchasing office; Global sourcing; Case study; China; Typology; Organisational design; Followership (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:proeco:v:154:y:2014:i:c:p:284-298

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2013.09.007

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