Francisco Puig

Globalization and its impact on operational decisions: The role of industrial districts in the textile industry

Purpose – This paper aims to analyse the impact of globalization on the manufacturing operations of industries and industrial districts and how it influences the specialization and diversification of manufacturing decisions.Design/methodology/approach – The sample includes 9,684 Spanish manufacturing textile firms and the analysis is both cross‐sectional and longitudinal.Findings – The results show that globalization tends to diminish the district and subsector effects over time, but they also show the positive impact of specialization on productivity and of diversification on business growth.Originality/value – The paper indicates to managers that the production function in textile firms has viability in Europe through achieving specialization and efficient operations management.

Global organizations and supply chain: New research avenues in the international human resource management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to aim at proposing a research agenda in the intersection of strategic supply chain management and logistics (SCML) of global organizations from the perspective of international human resource management (IHRM). Design/methodology/approach – To disclose the intellectual structure of research to date across both fields, the content of up to 280 articles dealing with IHRM and 174 papers addressing challenges in SCML in global organizations from a human resource management (HRM) viewpoint were analyzed. A stepwise hierarchical cluster and discriminant analysis were conducted to map a joint research agenda. Approaches from Upper Echelons theory and Co-Evolutionary theory of global organizations were adopted. Findings – Top management teams (TMT) are crucial to manage SCML successfully in today’s global organizations. Research on this intersection should draw attention to find antecedents, consequences and the process showing how those talented people grouped in dispersed...

The influence of geographical concentration and structural characteristics on the survival chance of textile firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the contribution of location (geographical concentration) and firm structure (age and subsector) to the risk of business failure.Design/methodology/approach – The Markovs regression analysis was made for a sample of over 11,700 Spanish textile‐clothing firms.Findings – The results obtained from the analysis suggest that the risk of business failure is increased by some risk factors relative to the structural characteristics of the firms (younger firms and specialization in low‐tech activities), and under determined locational circumstances.Research limitations/implications – Our conclusions have been obtained starting from a sample of manufacturing firms in the Spanish textile sector. An extension of this work would be to test its robustness in other countries (for example, Italy or Portugal) and/or for other industries such as footwear and furniture.Practical implications – Explaining the different levels of risk business failure shown by firms in an in...

The Dynamic Evolution of the Proximity Effect in the Textile Industry

This paper tests the evolution of the relationship between localization and proximity and their effect on firm performance for a sample of 10,490 Spanish textile firms in the period 2001–2006. Using coefficients of specialization two levels of geographical disaggregation are distinguished: (i) the provincial cluster and (ii) the industrial district. The results obtained show a positive and significant impact of the specialization level on productivity, both for industrial districts and provincial clusters (in this case only when the levels of specialization are high enough). In general, the effect is higher for industrial districts than for provincial clusters, although in both cases it decreases with time. Given that in most EU countries the textile industry has a tendency to be geographically concentrated in industrial districts, these results carry important implications for the textile industry.

Foreign Market Entry Mode Research: A Review and Research Agenda

ABSTRACT This article gives a retrospective look at the main determinants of foreign market entry modes and examines the variables and conditions used in empirical studies in this stream of research. We found that there is an “analytical context hazard” in past studies. The findings suggest: first, future research should focus on developing and extending theories with reference to strategy dimension and market/industry environment; second, the interrelationship between the main entry mode determinants should be figured out; third, attention has to be paid to the entry modes of firms from non-developed economies in research.

The Unequal Influence of Structure and Strategy on European Manufacturing Firm Performance

Purpose – To analyse the contribution of firm structure (size, clustering and foreign ownership) and strategy (subsector specialization) to the financial performance Return On Assets [ROA] of almost 10,000 European textile-clothing firms. Methodology/approach – A panel regression analysis is conducted for five European countries that are representative of a Southern European model of clustered Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) specialized in low-value-added products (Spain, Italy and Portugal) and of a Northern European model of large vertically integrated firms specialized in high-value-added products (France and Germany) in 2002–2009. Findings – The Northern European model has generated better financial performance than the Southern European model due to the joint role of its structure (large size) and strategy (specialization). Nevertheless, we find a positive effect of clustering in the Southern European model. Research limitations – Clusters were defined at the NUTS II level instead of the NUTS III level. The coefficient of specialization was calculated for the pre-liberalization average. Practical implications – Explaining the different levels of competitiveness shown by the same territorial organizational model in an industry. Originality/value of the chapter – Work that has studied the behaviour of the firms within this territory-industry relationship is still scarce. Given that the viability of clusters and of European manufacturing have been put into question, our work evidences that the efficacy of the decisions related to the firms structure and strategy needs to be tested jointly so that the way in which the firm addresses environmental changes can be appraised.

Clustering, innovation and hotel competitiveness: evidence from the Colombia destination

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationship between clustering and hotel competitiveness in emerging economy destinations by analyzing potential mediation of the management innovations implemented. Design/methodology/approach This empirical study is based on hotel-level information from a survey including 131 hotels in 2014. Colombia was chosen as a representative of Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa (CIVETS) emerging destinations. The relationships were analyzed by structural modeling and partial least squares. Findings Clustering has a positive direct impact on hotel competitiveness and innovation, and there is a positive effect of innovation on competitiveness. Therefore, the link between clustering and competitiveness is partially mediated through implementation of management innovations. Practical implications Hotels should actively participate in agglomerated destinations and build relationships with established firms by clustering. Interaction with related firms and implementation of management innovations will lead to increased levels of economic competitiveness. Public policymakers should foster collaborative strategic networking in the hospitality industry of emerging economy destinations. Originality/value This paper focused on separating the direct and indirect effects of clustering on hotel competitiveness. Implementation of management innovations was considered as an outcome derived from clustering in emerging tourist destinations, using the example of Colombia. Clustering stimulates and eases management innovations within the location, and that combination reinforces the role that cooperating while competing plays in hotel competitiveness for destinations with lagging innovation.

Efectos de la crisis económica sobre el emprendimiento en empresas de economía social en España: un análisis espacial

En los ultimos anos, la desfavorable evolucion de la coyuntura economica ha provocado intensos cambios estructurales y espaciales en la creacion de empresas que cuestionan la validez de algunos supuestos basicos sobre dinamica emprendedora y desarrollo territorial. Por ello, el objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la existencia de patrones espaciales de creacion de empresas de economia social en Espana y estudiar su evolucion temporal durante dos etapas de intensos cambios: una de crecimiento (2002-2007) y otra de profunda crisis generalizada (2008-2013). A partir de la definicion de un indice de agrupacion de empresas de economia social aplicamos tecnicas estadisticas basadas en econometria espacial (indice de Moran y LISA). Para tal fin se tomaron datos longitudinales del numero de empresas creadas en Espana, durante el periodo 2002-2013, bajo las formulas de economia social y mercantil comparandose posteriormente a nivel autonomico. Su dinamica se analiza conjuntamente con el PIB regional como indicador del contexto economico. Los resultados mas generales apuntan a que el patron de expansion de la dinamica emprendedora en empresas de economia social es negativo y regionalmente heterogeneo, mostrando la existencia de algunas concentraciones espaciales, en lo que podrian denominarse Clusters de Empresas de Economia Social . A la vista de esos resultados y patrones se evidencia una erosion en la influencia de determinados factores de tipo contextual (tradicion, cultura y normativa) en esa actividad emprendedora. Nuestras contribuciones tienen implicaciones para la academia y para los decisores de politicas publicas de apoyo a la creacion de empresas y la economia social.

The Chinese Bittersweet Cake in Orbea’s Internationalization

Orbea is the oldest and biggest bicycle manufacturer in Spain and one of the most recognized bike brands in the world. With more than 175 years in the market, in the year 2007 Orbea decided to set up its third manufacturing plant in the Industrial park of Kunshan. After 8 years with activity there, in 2015 the company decided to close down the factory and reallocated its resources closer to the Headquarters. Some of the reasons that influenced its entry and exit decisions had their origin in the specific context of investment (place): China and the country-of-origin (COO) cluster in Kunshan. Other reasons of the reshoring and backshoring were related with the evolution of the sector, public support services (space) and market positioning in Asia- Pacific. However, as a result of that process, the company has acquired some knowledge and experience that will shape the strategy of Orbea. The objective of this case study is to analyse the role of the place and the space in the international relocation strategy of Orbea. This will involve studying the main decision factors as well as the major organizational adjustments related to the linkage between the structure and the location. The chapter compares the main literature on entry reasons, location mode and offshoring with the interviews conducted to Orbea’s managers during the period 2013–2016. This work will guide business practitioners in their international manufacturing strategy and academics to contribute to the study of the advantages generated in specific contexts such as COO clusters.

Do public support services matter in the multilocation process in China

Purpose – During the last decade the demand to comprehend the overarching success factors of the multilocation process in distant countries such as China has increased significantly. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to explore and understand the nature and scope of the collaboration between the public support services (PSS) in China and the Spanish enterprises which decided to be multilocated there. Design/methodology/approach – The present study examines the necessity of the PSS in China by employing a review of literature as well as both quantitative and qualitative surveys from 31 Spanish companies multilocated in China. Findings – The main conclusions highlight the fact that the PSS do not seem to have a big and homogenous influence on the multilocation process, although those companies with higher levels of commitment that have been operating in China for a longer time have used it more frequently. Originality/value – While other studies of multilocation have isolated the companies from ...