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The purpose of this paper is to trace the emergence of knowledge-centric innovative enterprises that function in a disaggregated and dispersed form and further contemplate the economic and managerial rationale behind this strategy. A constant challenge to large organizations as well as those pursuing the intent to grow bigger is how to sustain the innovative dynamism.

The authors review the evolution of disaggregated and dispersed enterprises and discuss the changing cost structures for transactions, integration and coordination in the global knowledge economy. They elaborate the benefits of scale reduction and dispersed operations with examples.

Their review of the extant practices suggests that managers are finding value in disaggregating the firm operations. Disaggregation enhances the firm agility and responsiveness and helps the firm exploit the fleeting opportunities without incurring the opportunity cost or risking high investment.

Corporations need to become nimble, and their structure should be networked and permeable with significant industry actors. Integration would be imprudent if there is huge sunk cost due to uncertainty in business. Scale reduction and disaggregation, and operating in a dispersed mode – like a shoaling form – would help the companies exploit the fleeting opportunities without incurring the opportunity cost and risking high investment.

In addition to reviewing the rise of disaggregated enterprises, we explore the economic and managerial rationale of the disaggregation strategy, and discuss the learning and innovation, investment and cost-related advantages that stem from the disaggregated form of organization.

This paper aims to offer a long-term systematic picture of the evolution of manufacturing offshoring (in terms of intensity, geography and drivers) highlighting the changes in the surrounding context and the resulting transitions points (“points in time”) that have shaped its development path.

Three statistical tools were adopted on a dataset of 644 cases. First, the authors resorted to multiple structural change tests to identify the transition points. Second, the authors explored offshoring geography by conducting a network analysis. Finally, the authors adopted gravity models to shed light on offshoring drivers.

Results highlight three offshoring phases: expansion (2002–2006), reconsideration (2007–2009) and rationalization (2010 onwards). During the first phase, characterized by economic growth, firms were mainly interested in economic savings; offshoring to low-cost countries was the prevailing location strategy. Subsequently, during the economic crisis, the number of cases declined and the main drivers became market-based factors together with the research for cost savings. Finally, in the third phase, when the economy was still stagnating and new manufacturing technologies appeared, the number of offshoring cases has further decreased, and technological- and market-based factors have become the main location drivers.

The study is the first to adopt a systematic, empirical and quantitative approach to analyze the evolution of the manufacturing offshoring considering both the phenomenon itself and the triggering changes in the surrounding context. In doing this, the authors also tested the importance of considering the point in time in offshoring strategies.

The paper aims to capture the nuances of two client–supplier relationships to offer new insights on the influences of transactional, knowledge and social elements in outsourcing partnerships.

The study has used descriptive case studies with narrative storylines. Interviews were conducted with three relationship managers (boundary gatekeepers) to understand preferred governance practices between clients and suppliers in diverse economic markets.

Experiences of three real-life cases engaged in offshore outsourcing have helped to identify the market, operational knowledge and social influences in a relational exchange. Findings reveal that offshore partnerships are first constituted with service-level agreements, which set control measures and layout business expectations from both partners. Boundary gatekeepers bring further accountability across firms by designing social networks for capturing and sharing of knowledge, thereby reducing each partner’s perception of risk. As firms evaluate transactional, knowledge and social elements for building a futuristic relational exchange, more disaggregated and dispersed enterprises evolve as new opportunities are explored in foreign markets.

The retrospective nature of the client–supplier partnership is a limitation in this research study. However, retrospection adds to experience, and to practice perspectives made in hindsight, and therefore has a positive influence in this study.

This paper shares real-world experiences that can be used by scholars and practitioners to better understand how relational governance practices operate in a global socio-economic setting.