TY - CHAP A1 - Bremer, Peik A1 - Grasmik, Katrin A1 - Tsai, Kune-muh T1 - Organizational Success Factors of Lead Plant/Sister Plant Relationships in Global Production Networks T2 - Proceedings of the 23rd International Symposium on Logistics - Big Data Enabled Supply Chain Innovations, Bali, Indonesia N2 - Purpose of this paper: In a global production network, a lead plant can be defined as the global hub of knowledge with respect to the design and manufacturing of a specific product. The purpose of this paper is to identify the organizational success factors in the relationship between a lead plant and its sister plants in a company’s global production network (GPN). Design/methodology/approach: Eight cases, all centered at the automotive division of a multinational company and featuring lead plant/sister plant relationships for different products, were researched. Cases were selected for providing various contexts in terms of the age/maturity of the GPN and its forecasted development with respect to production volume. A literature review and initial interviews suggested to focus the research on four areas related to the knowledge flows in the network: (1) level of expertise in the lead plant, (2) knowledge transfer to sister plants, (3) organization of day-to-day operations and staff involved on either side, and (4) the perception of the relationship on either side. Information for the cases was obtained by in-depth interviews with those responsible for the relationship in both lead plant and sister plant. Findings: Two focal issues of a firm’s internal GPN have been identified in the research: (1) How the lead plant shapes the role assigned to it and (2) How knowledge is transferred within the GPN. The factual role of the lead plant depends on how sister plants not only take technical support and accept strategical guidance but also actively support the lead plants role by sharing their own knowledge. It is important for the lead plant that the business unit allows enough room to maneuver. The cases suggest that the life cycle of the GPN is a key influencing factor. The lead plant’s role should be established in the GPN’s formation phase. Even though the lead plant might initially prioritize technical support, it should not neglect strategic guidance early on because this function is hard to establish in an already mature GPN. Also, the mechanisms and standards of knowledge transfer must be established early in the GPN’s life cycle as in later stages both entrenched behavioral patterns and cost pressure might stand in the way. Value: Much research has been conducted on the different roles plants can assume in GPNs (cf. Ferdows, 1997; Vereecke et al., 2006; Feldmann and Olhager, 2013). This paper adds insight into how lead plants should organize and maintain their relationships with both business unit and sister plants in the GPN and shows the strong influence of GPN maturity Y1 - 2018 UR - https://isl21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ISL-2018-Full-paper-V1.pdf SP - 148 EP - 156 ER -