Level of decentralisation of global production networks - strategy-oriented design of decision-making autonomy

如今，在全球生产网络中运营的公司面临着结构不成熟、协调不力和缺乏战略一致性的问题，这可能对整个网络产生深远的影响。为了克服这些挑战并提高生产网络的性能，公司需要一个整体系统来支持他们在生产网络的正确点上做出全球生产的核心决策。然而，目前此类系统的实现主要是基于严格的检查清单和通用工具，而没有强制对生产网络及其环境进行全面考虑。因此，本研究提案的目标是为全球生产网络分散水平的最佳实践设计开发一种方法，该方法允许特定生产网络的核心生产决策在公司总部和单个生产站点之间分配，以适应不同的战略框架条件和不同类型的生产网络的内部和外部复杂性。在对核心决策及其影响因素进行分析和描述的基础上，通过多变量分析方法的实证研究和模拟研究，确定了这些要素之间的相互依赖关系。此外，这些相互依赖关系用于确定特定全球生产网络决策分散水平的最佳实践设计。最佳实践设计是通过数字化或组织理论等领域的各种设计指导方针和行动建议来实现的，这些指导方针和建议是通过将要开发的方法向特定的生产网络提出的。通过将实证方法、定量方法与行动措施相结合的方法，实现全球生产网络中决策自主性的战略导向设计。开发的方法将在制造业案例研究的背景下得到验证。

Companies operating in global production networks today are confronted with grown structures, suboptimal coordination efforts and a lack of strategy consistency, which can have far-reaching consequences for the entire network. To overcome these challenges and to improve the performance of production networks, companies need a holistic system that supports them in making the core decisions of global production at the right points in the production network. However, current implementations of such systems are mostly based exclusively on rigid checklists and generic tools, without forcing a comprehensive consideration of the production network and its environment.The objective of this research proposal is therefore to develop a methodology for the best practice design of the decentralisation level of global production networks that allows core production decisions for specific production networks to be allocated between a corporate headquarters and a single production site for different strategic framework conditions and different types of internal and external complexity of the production network. Based on an analysis and description of the core decisions and their influencing factors, interdependencies between these elements are determined with the help of an empirical study using multivariate analysis methods as well as through simulation studies. Furthermore, these interdependencies are used to identify a best practice design of the decentralisation level of decisions for specific global production networks. The best practice design is achieved through various design guidelines and recommendations for action from e.g. the fields of digitalisation or organisation theory, which are proposed to the specific production networks by the methodology to be developed. Through this approach, which combines empirical methods as well as quantitative methods with action measures, a strategy-oriented design of decision autonomy in global production networks is to be achieved. The developed methodology will be validated in the context of case studies from the manufacturing industry.