Purpose – 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.
Design/methodology/approach – 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.
Findings – 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 marketbased 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.
Originality/value – 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.
