{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T15:08:23Z","timestamp":1773241703867,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2007,8,14]],"date-time":"2007-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1187049600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2007,8,14]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Purpose<\/jats:title><jats:p>The objectives of this paper are: to identify the key defining elements of a subcontractor plant from an operations management perspective and examine whether there are differences between the operational contexts of such plants and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) plants; and to examine whether these differences should translate into different operational practices, addressing the specific case of process quality management practices.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title><jats:p>The paper uses a multiple case study involving five plants in the electronics industry representative of the OEM and different subcontractor contexts.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>Results suggest that the operational contexts of subcontractor and OEM plants are different and that, as a result, these types of plants should emphasize different sets of process quality management practices.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Research limitations\/implications<\/jats:title><jats:p>Results are considered to be generalizable to most discrete goods industries. However, future research should ascertain whether these results replicate in industries other than electronics.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Practical implications<\/jats:title><jats:p>OEMs, who have a critical role in disseminating best practice within the supply chain, must recognize the differences between OEM and subcontractor environments and avoid pushing one\u2010size\u2010fits\u2010all best practice programs along the chain.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-heading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p>Research in outsourcing to date has focused on the outsourcing decision <jats:italic>per se<\/jats:italic> and has mainly taken the perspective of the outsourcer firm. This study contributes to a better understanding of the operational implications of outsourcing decisions for subcontractor plants. It also responds to calls for more research linking quality management and supply chain management.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/01443570710775829","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2007,8,11]],"date-time":"2007-08-11T07:03:01Z","timestamp":1186815781000},"page":"974-997","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":29,"title":["Operational implications of manufacturing outsourcing for subcontractor plants"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Rui","family":"Sousa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Christopher A.","family":"Voss","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"key2022030819484271200_b1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ahire, S., Golhar, D. and Waller, M. 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