Managing Supply Network Internationalization: A Study of Italian Apparel Firms in Romania

This paper explores the process that dynamically links the whys, hows and whats of supply network internationalization. We propose a theoretical framework based on the internationalization process literature and apply it to analyze nine case studies of Italian footwear and apparel companies involved in relocating some segments of their supply networks to Romania. Cross-case analysis highlights three different processes of supply network internationalization: 1) traditional subcontracting; 2) co-ordinated subcontracting, and 3) supply system relocation. Empirical findings contribute delineating the roles of the technological knowledge needed to be transferred to run foreign operations, and of the international supply network context of the focal firm to fully understand the process of supply network internationalization. It is the different balance of such two variables that explains why, moving from the first to the third internationalization process, companies can make it harder for rivals the imitation of the whole set of managerial decisions underpinning their internationalization strategies.