Global Operations Coevolution: Hidden Effects and Responses

Companies are actively seeking competitive advantage through their choice of location and ownership of operations. The purpose of this chapter is to uncover hidden effects of this development and propose how companies can respond to them. The chapter draws on a case study of a Danish industrial equipment firm and describes how its operations configuration has been changing over time. The chapter identifies the key determinants of this change and uncovers some of its hidden effects. The chapter closes with propositions for how to respond to these effects through the development of a distinct systemic approach to control and coordination, which emphasizes not only short-term operational efficiency, but also increasingly long-term strategic effectiveness. The findings advance coevolutionary perspectives on the integration of globally dispersed business systems spanning multiple levels of analysis and involving temporal adaptations. In terms of managerial implications, the study provides managers with lessons for designing a robust system of globally dispersed operations.