Logics and Limits in Ethical Outsourcing and Offshoring in the Global Financial Services Industry

Abstract

The offshore outsourcing of financial and other services has generated considerable political heat in Western countries over the past decade. In this paper we subject the realities of offshoring to observation at company level by unpacking the strategies underlying the offshoring decision and related ethical considerations, in respect of a US-based flagship finncial services firm renowned as exemplary in international business process engineering and corporate social responsibility. Through interviews with senior executives in the case organization, and with leading management consultants in the field, we build a picture of the potentially contradictory strategic logics which have characterized the approach to offshore outsourcing in the company over more than a decade.