The conclusions presented here are part of the Global Sourcing Research Project, an exploratory project that investigated the development of global sourcing processes and strategies. This project included an extensive review of previous research, information obtained through site visits to 15 leading companies and quantitative data collected from executives responsible for the international and global activities at 162 different companies.
The quantitative research relied on survey data provided by respondents selected randomly from a database of supply executives. Researchers intentionally selected names from a database consisting of larger rather than smaller companies because experience suggested that larger companies are more likely to pursue the kinds of activities that were of interest. The average participating company had annual sales of $1.5 billion. Thirty-eight percent of respondents worked for companies with annual sales of $500 million or less, 31% worked for companies with sales of $500 million to $3 billion, 15% worked for companies with sales of $3 billion to $10 billion, and 16% worked for companies with sales over $10 billion.
Of 1,800 surveys forwarded worldwide, 162 were returned, yielding a 9% response rate. Some companies elected not to participate due to their inexperience with worldwide sourcing activities. Furthermore, the response rates for surveys sent outside the United States were low, resulting in a final sample that contained a large percentage of U.S. companies. The participants in... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
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