Remain at home or return home: What are the drivers behind the (re)location of supply and manufacturing activities?

Internationalization strategies have become increasingly relevant for Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and their post-transition economies, especially in terms of production and supply activities. Among such countries, Poland has emerged as a significant player in the global marketplace due to its high embeddedness in Global Value Chains (GVCs), such as in the case of the automobile industry. More specifically, the country was classified in the “forward GVC integration group” (Comotti et al, 2022), since its companies are characterized by a low level of manufacturing offshoring and a medium/high level of supply offshoring (Młody and Fratocchi, 2022). Based on such evidence, this study examines the internationalization strategies implemented by 602 Polish manufacturing companies belonging to two different industries, fashion and electromechanical. More specifically, attention is focused on drivers behind the decision not to offshore production activities, and drivers inducing companies to reshore supply activities. Our results contribute to the recent academic debate on offshoring and reshoring strategies implemented by CEE firms, showing that drivers partially vary between industries. Such evidence supports managers in developing adequate decision-making processes regarding their manufacturing and supply location decisions. Finally, the study may support policymakers, enabling the development of specific industrial policies oriented to strengthening the competitiveness of Polish companies