本文從彈性生產的角度切入,建立一理論模型探討代工發生的原因。得到的主要結果如下: 第一、由於品牌廠商不具彈性生產能力, 因此一旦需求景氣的風險變大,即使具彈性生產能力的代工廠商生產 成本較高, 品牌廠商也會尋求代工; 第二、在品牌廠商決定不代工(或沒有代工市場時) 的決策下, 品牌廠商的產能資本投資可能隨需求景氣的變異數擴張而增加,或隨景氣需求的預期平均值增加而增 加。但一旦品牌廠商決定代工後, 品牌廠商的產能資本投資必隨需求景氣的變異數擴張而減少; 第三、品牌廠商產能投資邊際成本越小, 代工廠彈性生產的優勢就越低,代工就越不可能發生。

This paper constructs a theoretical model which introduces flexible manufacturingto study the causes giving rise to subcontracting. The main findingsof the paper are as follows. Firstly, owing to an inability to flexibly manufacture,the consignor would choose to subcontract out its production evenif the production cost of the subcontracting firm is higher than that of theconsignor, when the variance, i.e., risk, of a demand shock is large. Secondly,when subcontracting does not occur, the cosigner’s capacity investment increases as the variance or the mean of a demand shock rises. However, giventhat subcontracting occurs, the consignor’s capacity investment will decreaseas the variance of a demand shock rises. Thirdly,the smaller the consignor’smarginal cost of capacity investment, the less the possibility of the emergenceof subcontracting due to a fall in the comparative advantage of theflexible manufacturing owned by the subcontracting firm.