Developing the right sourcing strategy in managing the firm’s supplies is critical for today’s managers. They realize the long‐term impact of their sourcing strategies (make or buy, supply‐base structure, and nature of customer‐supplier relationship) on the profits and the efficient functioning of the organization. The study examines and evaluates changes in these strategic choices. The study revealed the following: small and lower labor productivity firms rate their internal suppliers better than external suppliers; obtaining supplies nationwide from a limited number of suppliers is the prevalent supply‐base structure; and customer‐supplier relationship is deepening.

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This study provides the first estimates on the relationship between state public policies and job losses in the manufacturing sector. In addition, spatial model estimation is adopted to identify any effect that state policies may have on the adopting state as well as upon neighboring states. We find evidence that favorable ratings regarding some elements of a state's business climate coincide with a lower incidence of job loss. This relationship holds beyond the adopting state and is correlated with lower job losses in contiguous states. (JEL J50, J60, M50) * We are deeply indebted to the patience of the editor and the very helpful comments of two anonymous reviewers.