Quality assurance practices in the global supply chain: the effect of supplier localisation

Abstract

This paper deals with quality management practices in the global supply chain. More specifically, the association between the geographical location of suppliers (within a country or in low labour cost countries) and quality assurance practices is analyzed. Three hypotheses are proposed and tested using a sample of 401 Spanish manufacturing establishments with at least fifty workers in all industries. The results indicate that plants purchasing a higher proportion of their inputs in low-cost countries are more likely to be certified according to a quality standard. However, no associations have been found between the localization of suppliers and the establishment of close relationships with suppliers in order to assure quality.