Is the world really "flat"? Culture issues in manufacturing industry

Globalization has brought companies to compete around the world: local companies have started to act globally, and facilities and subsidiaries have been founded, with the aim to exploit cost opportunities as well as market possibilities. It follows, that manufacturing strategies are spread across the world; as a consequence managers have started to heed to cultural values that are different from their own. The central idea of the thesis, is that what is “best” for one company might not be so for another. In line with this, among the several contingencies national culture, might exert a relevant role. The suggestion behind the research is that national cultural values might affect the way through which companies act and consequently the way through which businesses are managed and goals are achieved. Three research articles constitute the core of the dissertation. The first investigates how, given a set of competitive priorities, the level of the investments applied by companies in manufacturing “best” practices change, according to the national culture of the country in which the plant is located. The second study, addresses the role of national cultural values in affect the extent through which companies have invested in information sharing, either with their customers and suppliers. Lastly, the third article focuses on those manufacturing practices that have been deemed as a suitable to cope with market uncertainties, i.e. forecasting and flexibility, investigating how national cultural values might change their effectiveness in improve companies’ cost performance. The thesis aims to contribute to the research stream of global manufacturing strategy and supply chain management. From a managerial perspective, managers should recognize the importance of national cultural values when decide to apply investments abroad, in order to put in place programmes that are effective in improve companies’ performance.