International supply network strategies in the textile-apparel industry: evidences from case studies in Southern Italy

The paper presents the findings of a research aimed at exploring supply network strategies and their role in supporting firms' success. During the last decades there has been an increasing interest in supply networks describing the flow of goods and services from the source of raw materials to end customers. This paper aims at contributing to the body of work on this issue by investigating supply network strategies of three successful textile-apparel firms located in Southern Italy. The analysis shows the variety of supply network choices adopted by firms and reveals an appropriate consistency among competitive priorities, supply network structure and management practices. This fit reflects firms' capability to align the whole network of interconnected businesses involved in product provision with the requirements of its environment and can be considered a key factor for firms success.