Welcome to RESHORE!
Explaining and understanding how political dynamics shape firm behavior

Geopolitical tensions are reshaping global economic relations, challenging the liberal international trade order and providing impetus for policy initiatives that aim to increase so-called economic security, ramp up domestic production, and potentially reshuffle global supply chains. Yet the preferences and mobilization of firms, who are central actors in global economic governance, remain poorly understood in the wake of these developments.

How do firms respond to geopolitical developments? Under what conditions are they more likely to relocate production? Does business as usual persist beneath the political rhetoric? RESHORE takes up these questions, investigating whether and how European manufacturing firms respond to (and potentially shape) geopoliticization of trade policies through decisions to relocate production away from China: reshoring it to their home country, or near- and friendshoring it to nearby allied countries.

The project will investigate firms’ behavior using observational data on European firms’ operations in China (namely their divestment and ownership patterns over time) complemented by novel data collected through survey evidence and in-depth case studies that offer a closer view of the motivations behind individual firms’ relocation decisions. Finally, the project will develop a comprehensive theoretical framework on firms’ political behavior, contributing to debates in political science and international political economy on the mobilization of political actors and its relationship to state policy.

We also aim to synthesize our findings into actionable business and policy insights and make them available for practitioners (see “For Practitioners”).

This website contains all available information on the project, the team and our findings. Please reach out if you require further information (see “Team”).

RESHORE is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.