Date of Graduation
7-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration (PhD)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Supply Chain Management
Advisor/Mentor
Hofer, Christian
Committee Member
Rosale, Claudia
Second Committee Member
Hofer, Adiana Rossiter
Third Committee Member
Ta, Ha
Keywords
emissions; geographic dispersion; geographic overlap; relocation; talent attraction; text mining
Abstract
Global operations have become increasingly complex as multinational firms expand their international manufacturing networks while relying on geographically dispersed suppliers and customers. Although prior research has generated substantial insights into firms' internal manufacturing networks and external supply chain networks, these streams have largely evolved independently, limiting our understanding of how structural decisions across both domains shape organizational outcomes. This dissertation addresses this gap through three essays that examine how multinational firms configure and reconfigure their global operations, with particular attention to the geographic configuration of internal manufacturing networks and external supply chain networks. The first essay investigates the performance implications of geographic dispersion in firms' in-house offshoring (IHO) activities while identifying key boundary conditions that shape this relationship. The second essay examines how national overlap between firms' internal manufacturing footprints and their supply chain partners influences corporate greenhouse gas emissions. The third essay analyzes how global supply chain relocation strategies influence job seekers' perceptions, highlighting important implications for talent attraction in operations and supply chain management. Methodologically, the dissertation combines multiple archival datasets with text-mined information from 10-K reports and vignette-based experiments. Collectively, the findings advance understanding of how multinational firms can configure global operations to improve financial performance, environmental sustainability, and human capital outcomes. This research contributes to the global operations and supply chain management literature while offering practical guidance for managers navigating increasingly complex and uncertain international business environments.
Citation
Lam, H. M. (2026). Global Supply Chain Management: Three Essays on Financial Performance, Sustainability, and Talent Recruitment. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/6324
