Using plant leaders' perspectives to overcome barriers to inter-plant exchange

Abstract

Purpose

This paper sets out to identify barriers to intra-network exchange within international manufacturing networks (IMNs) from the micro-level perspective of key actors at the plant level, namely, plant leaders.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through interviews with 12 plant leaders from nine different firms operating in at least three geographically dispersed manufacturing facilities.

Findings

Six partially interrelated barriers to intra-network exchange were identified. First, there are a lack of resources, network strategies, plant overlap and individual-level ties between plant leaders. Furthermore, this study shows that the pronounced local focus of plant leaders, fierce inter-plant competition and falsely designed incentives constitute barriers to inter-plant exchange. The results underline the need for network management to consider the individual-level perspective when designing rules and policies for IMNs.

Research limitations/implications

The generalisability of the results is limited by the sample, which consists of plant leaders from firms headquartered in German-speaking areas.

Practical implications

The findings indicate that network managers should consider the interests and concerns of plant leaders when trying to facilitate network thinking. In addition to delayering the overall IMN into distinct subnetworks of peer plants, network managers should set clear and openly communicated objectives in a mission for each subnetwork that also points to inter-plant exchange and provides the resources for such activities. Practitioners should also apply shared objectives for plant leaders and promote individual-level ties between them to benefit from intra-network exchange.

Originality/value

By analysing the perceptions of plant leaders, this study sheds light on the individual level of global operations, which has been neglected in research on IMNs to date.

Citation

Wiech, M. and Friedli, T. (2021), "Using plant leaders' perspectives to overcome barriers to inter-plant exchange", Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 32 No. 6, pp. 1167-1187. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-09-2019-0331