Abstract
Outsourcing is an organizational measure that changes the resource dependencies of a company. In this paper, a framework is developed from the perspective of the resource dependence approach to explain strategic outsourcing in the German engine building industry. On the basis of the NIFA panel, which describes the development of this industry in the 1990s, the framework is examined in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. It can be shown that the resource dependence perspective contributes to an explanation of organizational changes, both outsourcing and insourcing. In addition, the longitudinal studies show the significance of the strategic, that is, long-term orientation of the ensemble of organizational measures towards company success.
Highlights
Outsourcing, on the one hand, is considered as a central element of organization on the way towards modern, that is, “streamlined” organization (Drucker 1988)
In normative terms, outsourcing was suggested in industries like the German engine building industry, which exhibit a high degree of vertical integration (Widmaier 2000b)
This study explores the determinants, motifs, and success of insourcing and outsourcing in the German engine building industry
Summary
Outsourcing, on the one hand, is considered as a central element of organization on the way towards modern, that is, “streamlined” organization (Drucker 1988). The discussion of whether services are most advantageously provided within a business or by others through the market is often held with a one-sided emphasis on outsourcing. This onesidedness corresponds with the recent orientation of business organizational theory solely according to economic theory. Both the new economics of institutions, in particular the transaction costs approach, as well as the “resource based view of the firm” are being discussed in Germany in connection to outsourcing in practical application with a recommendation towards the market (Matiaske/Mellewigt 2002). Susanne Gretzinger: Strategic Outsourcing in the German Engine Building Industry
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