The Role of Not-for-profit Innovation Centres in Facilitating the Reshoring of Manufacturing

This study explores the role of High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC) centres in supporting reshoring initiatives in the UK. The HVMC network is geared to provide businesses with specialist technical expertise and skills across sectors to OEMs, SMEs and supply chains, access to high value specialist facilities and infrastructure, technology and sector leadership, and long-term investment in technology platforms or demonstrators. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews with 35 individuals in the HVMC network. Dunning’s eclectic paradigm was adopted to understand how HVMC influence location attractiveness leading to supply chain configuration decisions. Results show that HVMCs support pre-reshoring/during-reshoring decisions by enhancing market-seeking and strategic asset-seeking advantages and during-reshoring/post-reshoring decisions by enhancing resource-seeking and efficiency-seeking advantages.