The existing outsourcing literature has generally overlooked the cost differential and contract negotiations between manufacturers and suppliers (by assuming identical cost structures and adopting Stackelberg-game based models). One fundamental question that yet to be addressed is whether...

Despite the widespread of cost-driven outsourcing practices, academic research cautions that suppliers' cost advantage may weaken manufacturers' bargaining positions in negotiating outsourcing agreements, thereby hurting their profitability. In this paper, we attempt to further understand the...

We analyze contracting behaviors in a two-tier supply chain system consisting of competing manufacturers and competing retailers. We contrast the contracting outcome of a Stackelberg game, in which the manufacturers offer take-it-or-leave-it contracts to the retailers, with that of a bargaining...

In the electronics industry and beyond, original design manufacturers (ODMs) provide a full spectrum of services, ranging from design and development to manufacturing, to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Through resource pooling, ODMs benefit from scope economies when designing different...

During the last few decades, the growing demand of electronics and computer products has given rise to a new breed of manufacturing firms in Asia, the so-called original design manufacturers (ODMs), for example, Flextronics, Quanta, and Compal, etc. These companies provide design, manufacturing,...