Global and Regional Production Networks: A Theoretical and Practical Synthesis

Abstract

The growth of research interest in networked production has brought up numerous important concepts aimed at production networks. Still the actual research object seems to be ambiguous, making the exact application of findings insufficient. It appears that there are two main notions of the term Production Network. The first meaning is derived by a single versus a multiorganizational perspective while the second meaning comes from a regional versus global view. Obviously indistinctness exists in this field of research and clarification of terms and concept is required. The objective of this paper is to give an overview of the existing theories in accordance with the industrial practice providing a model to bridge the academic theories to industrial practice.