THE OUSOURCINGOFINNOVATIONACTIVITIES. A LONGITUDINAL STUDY IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN OF AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY

Many companies have redefined their own business model implementing an extensive use of outsourcing strategies. This phenomenon has, increasingly, involved activities of the value chain with high-intensity of technology innovation (R&D activities) and industries with global and high technology-based supply chains. In accordance with this trend, today, the outsourcing is considered to be an important potential source of innovativeness, because it permits to leverage on specialized technological resources and capabilities of strategic suppliers’ networks and sustain, more effectively and efficiently, the research and development activities for new product development strategies. Using a longitudinal case study approach, the aim of this study, therefore, is to address the outsourcing decisions relatively to the innovation activities for the new product development (namely, R&D activities) across the global boundaries of aircraft supply chain, one of the industries with highest-intensity of research and development investments.