Global sourcing of complex production processes

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Schwarz, Christian; Suedekum, Jens
• 署名单位: University of Duisburg Essen; Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; IZA Institute Labor Economics
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2013.12.006
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 123-139
• 关键词: multinational firms; Outsourcing; Intra-firm trade; Offshoring; Vertical FDI

摘要

We develop a theory of a firm in an incomplete contracts environment which decides on the complexity, the organization, and the global scale of its production process. Specifically, the firm decides i) how many intermediate inputs are simultaneously combined to a final product, ii) if the supplier of each input is an external contractor or an integrated affiliate, and iii) if that input is offshored to a foreign country. Our model leads to a rich set of predictions on the internal structure of multinational firms. In particular, it provides an explanation why many firms choose hybrid sourcing and have both outsourced and integrated suppliers. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.