Offshoring vs. Reshoring in Italy. Evidence from a case-based analysis.

Abstract In the latest years location strategies of firms are gaining growing at-tention due to the recent rise of reshoring announcements, which cannot be con-sidered just an outcome of new political platforms based on protectionism. Most of them aim at coping with problems determined by unsuccessful offshoring deci-sions. 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.