Should we make or buy? An update and review

  1. Rubén Medina Serrano 1
  2. María Reyes González Ramírez 1
  3. José Luis Gascó Gascó 1
  1. 1 Universitat d'Alacant
    info

    Universitat d'Alacant

    Alicante, España

    ROR https://ror.org/05t8bcz72

Revista:
European Research on Management and Business Economics

ISSN: 2444-8834

Any de publicació: 2018

Volum: 24

Número: 3

Pàgines: 137-148

Tipus: Article

DOI: 10.1016/J.IEDEEN.2018.05.004 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR

Altres publicacions en: European Research on Management and Business Economics

Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible

Resum

Whether firms should perform manufacturing activities on their own or buy them from an external provider is a strategic question that many managers from all firm areas have historically asked themselves. The present paper seeks to address this question by developing a theoretical framework which can help managers evaluate sourcing decisions. After discussing a make-or-buy literature review on 7 prestigious academic journals, the most relevant determinants and theories supported from the literature are identified and illustrated within this framework. The results are subsequently outlined, our research work concluding with a reflection on the extent to which this paper can improve the academic understanding of make-or-buy approaches. Our results suggest that practitioners should combine the resource-based view, strategic management and transaction cost economics theories in order to assess manufacturing location decisions.

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