An analysis of research on international operations networks

This paper reports on an analysis of recent journal articles and proceedings papers which discuss international operations networks. These networks are comprised of supplier, manufacturing, warehouse and transportation facilities and the connections between these facilities. They are a key feature of international organizations and the subject of considerable research. The first aspect of the analysis presented here focuses on three descriptive dimensions of the current research on international operations networks: world region, topic and research method. The results are directed at determining if there are regional differences in approach to research on international operations networks either in the topic covered or the research method employed. A second aspect of the study is to evaluate three frameworks identified by other researchers, each of which was used to classify the research reviewed for this paper. The usefulness of each framework is also assessed. Two conclusions result from the research reported here. First, there are no overall differences found in the topics covered or research methods used in different world regions. Secondly, of the three frameworks assessed, the Giffi, Roth and Seal (1990) framework, based on manufacturing strategy components, appears to be the most useful for classifying international operations network research. When the research is classified by this framework, statistically significant differences among world regions, topics and research methods are found.