International Sourcing: empirical evidences from a sample of Italian firms

Despite the increasing importance of international sourcing (IS), the literature still lacks empirical investigations and theoretical models that give cognitive and normative references on the phenomenon. This study proposes the first extensive analysis on IS dynamics in Italy, quantifying the size of IS in this context and describing some of its aspects qualitatively. Results of an empirical study on a sample of Italian firms are presented. The sample is composed of 78 Italian enterprises belonging to various industries. The empirical evidence documents: entity of the phenomenon, motivations and obstacles, kinds of items purchased abroad, vendor selection criteria, information sources, organisational approaches, and advantages of IS activities. The situation that emerges from the survey depicts a sample where IS is in a transitional phase passing from an initial stage (IS motivated by contingent factors) to a more advanced one where IS is part of an extensive international strategy. The results of this research are then compared with those emerging from other geographical contexts shown. Beside a descriptive valence, the study offers also a contribution of methodological nature, suggesting synthetic measures of the IS phenomena.