Purpose This paper sets out to identify barriers to intra-network exchange within international manufacturing networks (IMNs) from the micro-level perspective of key actors at the plant level, namely, plant leaders. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through interviews with 12 plant leaders from nine different firms operating in at least three geographically dispersed manufacturing facilities. Findings Six partially interrelated barriers to intra-network exchange were identified. First, there are a lack of resources, network strategies, plant overlap and individual-level ties between plant leaders. Furthermore, this study shows that the pronounced local focus of plant leaders, fierce inter-plant competition and falsely designed incentives constitute barriers to inter-plant exchange. The results underline the need for network management to consider the individual-level perspective when designing rules and policies for IMNs. Research limitations/implications The generalisability of the results is limited by the sample, which consists of plant leaders from firms headquartered in German-speaking areas. Practical implications The findings indicate that network managers should consider the interests and concerns of plant leaders when trying to facilitate network thinking. In addition to delayering the overall IMN into distinct subnetworks of peer plants, network managers should set clear and openly communicated objectives in a mission for each subnetwork that also points to inter-plant exchange and provides the resources for such activities. Practitioners should also apply shared objectives for plant leaders and promote individual-level ties between them to benefit from intra-network exchange. Originality/value By analysing the perceptions of plant leaders, this study sheds light on the individual level of global operations, which has been neglected in research on IMNs to date.

中文翻译：

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利用工厂领导的观点克服工厂间交流的障碍

目的 本文旨在从工厂层面关键参与者（即工厂领导）的微观角度确定国际制造网络 (IMN) 内部网络交换的障碍。设计/方法/方法 数据是通过与来自 9 家不同公司的 12 位工厂负责人的访谈收集的，这些公司在至少三个地理分散的制造设施中运营。结果 确定了网络内交换的六个部分相关的障碍。首先，工厂领导之间缺乏资源、网络战略、工厂重叠和个人层面的联系。此外，这项研究表明，工厂领导的明显本地关注、激烈的工厂间竞争和错误设计的激励措施构成了工厂间交流的障碍。结果强调了网络管理在为 IMN 设计规则和策略时需要考虑个人层面的观点。研究局限性/影响 结果的普遍性受到样本的限制，样本由总部位于德语地区的公司的工厂负责人组成。实际意义 调查结果表明，网络管理者在尝试促进网络思维时应该考虑工厂领导者的利益和关注点。除了将整个 IMN 延迟到对等工厂的不同子网络中之外，网络管理员还应在任务中为每个子网络设定明确和公开交流的目标，这些目标也指向工厂间交换并为此类活动提供资源。从业者还应该为工厂领导应用共同的目标，并促进他们之间的个人层面的联系，以从网络内交流中受益。独创性/价值 通过分析工厂领导的看法，这项研究揭示了全球运营的个人层面，而这一点在迄今为止的 IMN 研究中一直被忽视。