Purpose – An increasing number of consumer goods are being produced in industries which may be characterised as “buyer‐driven” commodity chains, where the various stages of production are undertaken by different firms (often in different countries) and where the lead role(s), both in...

Purpose To provide a theoretical explanation of why outsourcing relationships are inherently dynamic, in that the dependence of each party upon the other inevitably changes over time and thus so too will the power asymmetries between the parties. Methodology/approach Our approach is theoretical...

Many manufacturing firms (e.g. Apple and Nike) now outsource some or all of their manufacturing activities to independent suppliers rather than continuing to undertake them in-house. Clearly these firms perceive this externalisation of production to be a performance-enhancing strategy, but what...