The Research on the Role Status of China’s Software Service Outsourcing Based on the Partnership of Service Outsourcing Networks

Abstract

China has been greatly engaging in global outsourcing services. Despite the increase in global outsourcing services industry, yet the service trade is in deficit and the export trades in service mainly concentrate on the travel, transportation and other business service, both of which indi-cate the comparatively low competitiveness of Chinese service in the world. The nature of partnerships involved between China’s service business undertakers and their overseas clients have not received adequate attention in the scholarly literature. The study analyzed three possible types of outsourcing networks partnership which include tactical, strategic and transformational partnership. Based on software development “waterfall model”, the network role status in undertaking outsourcing service of China are explained and the analysis results show that the tactical partnership plays a key role on the value chain of China’s software outsourcing in the global networks. It is concluded that China’s low value chain in software outsourcing networks is determined by the tactical partnership. Some suggestions on how to improve China’s software outsourcing industry include culti-vating the leading enterprises, building up an intermediary organization, enlarging the clustering effect in industrial park and taking advantage of the Belt and Road Initiative market and Japanese market.