| dc.description.abstract | Research problem and objective: Offshoring production activities from the EU to non-EU countries have been studied widely in academia, and the reversion of this decision, reshoring, is receiving increasing attention. However, the direct relation of reshoring and sustainability is highly unexplored. Nevertheless, the impact of value creation activities on the environment and society is significant and can differ depending on a firm’s location. Hence, this study aims to analyze the role of sustainability concerning reshoring at the micro-and macro-level. Therefore, this research answers the following main question: What is the role of sustainability at the firm- and supranational level when reshoring value creation activities to the EU?
Theory: This study applies the novel framework developed by Boffelli and Johansson (2020) to examine the reshoring processes of two case companies and integrates the social and environmental sustainability dimensions into it.
Methods: An explorative, multiple case study design was chosen, examining the reshoring processes of two firms operating in the bicycle industry; one nearshoring and the other one backshoring production activities from Asia to the EU. This examination was further complemented by analyzing ten semi-structured interviews with various experts to investigate the role of reshoring at the EU-level and identify sustainability-related opportunities and risks of reshoring.
Results: The study’s findings indicate that sustainability-related aspects were not the decisive factors during the reshoring processes. The extent of inclusion of environmental or social aspects could be dependent on a firm’s values and sustainability strategy. Nevertheless, the reshoring decision may be attributed to specific favorable effects related to sustainability, such as stricter environmental and labor regulations, employment creation, and transport minimization. The investigation of sustainability-related opportunities at the EU-level further supports these aspects and emphasizes the potential adverse effects of reshoring, such as having an elevated environmental and social risk in the EU or contributing to the rise of inequalities in previous host countries.
Discussion/Conclusion: The findings shed new light on reshoring and sustainability and potential outcomes at the micro-and macro-level. It provides valuable insights for managers and policy-makers to scrutinize reshoring as the benefits and risks might differ depending on the level of assessment (firm, national, global). Furthermore, it stresses the importance of reshoring being a complex and dynamic process, meaning that the degree of reshoring might differ per firm and that it might not be inherently the right decision for a company or regarding environmental and/or social sustainability aspects. | |
