University of Twente Student Theses
Examining to what extent the country of origin and signaling theory influence the selection process between EU and transcontinental sourcing.
Feiweier, B. (2022) Examining to what extent the country of origin and signaling theory influence the selection process between EU and transcontinental sourcing.
|
PDF
1MB |
| Abstract: | Recent research showed that there has been a shift within global sourcing that has led to a higher level of transcontinental and a lower level of intra-EU sourcing. To further investigate this shift in sourcing preference from a European standpoint, this research investigates if, and to what extent, the country of origin and the signaling theories influence this selection process. The research aims to extent the literature on the motives of buying firms to choose a supplier outside of their own continent. With the help of empirical findings deducted from 25 interviews with companies from Germany and the Netherlands, which source either on an EU or transcontinental scale, these effects will be investigated. The analysis of the results shows, that while there can be a rather positive influence on this trend based on the country of origin construct, the signaling model proved to support intra-EU sourcing. The perceived price advantages that come from sourcing trans- continentally are supported by a perceived growing quality and technology in non- EU countries. This was underlined by the fact that China posed to be one of the strongest countries in terms of country image. On the other hand, customer loyalty with EU suppliers sees advantages for sourcing from the same continent, as signaling mechanisms proved to be more influential with continental suppliers. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 85 business administration, organizational science |
| Programme: | International Business Administration BSc (50952) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/90951 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Show download statistics for this publication
Show download statistics for this publicationRepository Staff Only: item control page