Key Outsourcing Research Articles

중소기업 아웃소싱에서 공식통제, 갈등 및 중국꽌시가 장기지향성에 미치는 영향

During the past four decades, China has become an important manufacturing plant in the global market with rapid economic development and has become the most attractive outsourcing destination for manufacturers. Outsourcing in China is evolving beyond simple low-cost assembly or low-cost production into supplies of innovative products, parts and services. The purpose of this study is to explore how manufacturing firms, especially SME, maintain long-term outsourcing relationship with suppliers in China. By analyzing survey data collected from manufacturing firms operating in China, we find that manufacturer’s dependence on supplier influences outsourcing task conflicts negatively and the proper usage of formal control in the key outsourcing processes reduce outsourcing task conflicts by suppressing supplier’s opportunistic behavior. In addition, Chinese Guanxi is not only a useful governance mechanism for building manufacturing firm’s long-term orientation with supplier, but also has moderating effects between outsourcing task conflicts and long-term orientation. This study contributes to an understanding of outsourcing management in China by demonstrating the importance of Guanxi’s moderating effects, directing effects on manufacturer’s long-term relationship with suppliers and formal control’s reducing effects on outsourcing task conflicts.

Congruent patterns of outsourcing capabilities: A bilateral perspective

Despite the extensive proliferation of Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO), firms often obtain unsatisfactory outsourcing outcomes due to the lack of appropriate outsourcing capabilities of a client or their vendor. ITO clients strive to enhance outsourcing performance by establishing their own outsourcing capabilities as well as contracting with capable vendors to meet their strategic needs. Thus, for the success of an ITO project, it is imperative to find an effective combination of complementary outsourcing capabilities on both sides. However, knowledge of how to identify and develop a set of appropriate outsourcing capabilities of both client and vendor has yet to be developed. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by elaborating on the configurational mechanisms of outsourcing capabilities from a bilateral perspective, which explicate how multiple types of client and vendor outsourcing capabilities combine into configurations simultaneously to produce high ITO performance. First, based on the ITO literature, we develop a conceptual framework that identifies three key types of outsourcing capabilities. Then, with the matched dataset collected from a client and their vendor, we conduct a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), which is a set-theoretic configurational method to investigate the systemic and holistic interdependencies among key outsourcing capabilities that produce high outsourcing performance. On the basis of the conceptual framework and empirical findings, we present four viable propositions to build configurations of client and vendor ITO capabilities that can achieve ITO success with theoretical and practical implications.

Factors affecting to long-term relationship of outsourcing: A case study of Thailand

Outsourcing is very important for organizations to achieve better performance, such as cost reduction, core activities, and knowledge acquisition. Thailand is as known worldwide as a key outsourcing service provider. To know factors affecting to long-term relationship outsourcing are essential for the business continuities of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) providers in Thailand. Based on literature review, this research proposed a model suggested that cooperation, control and improvement can affect performance and then further affects outsourcing long-term relationship. Using a data set collected from 322 questionnaire surveys via e-mailed, and 200 questionnaire surveys sent to personal to test the proposed hypotheses from June 1 to June 30, 2019. As a result, 219 respondents were used for data analysis (41.95 percent). To confirm our hypotheses, we use Partial Least Squares (PLS)–a variance-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. The results showed that at 0.05 significance level, cooperation has a positive effect on the control. Moreover, cooperation and improvement have a positive effect on the performance and performance has a positive effect to outsourcing long-term relationship. This study provides some suggestions to outsourcing suppliers in Thailand to maintain or to extend their outsourcing relationships with their current customers.

Supplier portfolio of key outsourcing parts selection using a two-stage decision making framework for Chinese domestic auto-maker

The Chinese domestic auto-industry has been urged to perform quality improvement practice due to the soaring warranty cost and quality loss under the “two-dimensional warranty policy” regulation. The quality of key vehicle parts provided by its outsourcing suppliers plays a significant role not only on the quality and reliability of the vehicle products, but also on the reputation, customer loyalty, warranty cost and other quality loss of the assemblers. To improve the economics of the vehicle quality, preventive quality improvement strategy through the strategic procurement studies on the key parts is addressed. This study develops a two-stage decision making framework to deal with the supplier portfolio of the key outsourcing parts (SPKOP) selection by highlighting the economics of quality within the stipulated warranty period. In stage I, on the basis of customer feedback, the extended VIKOR-based multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) technique is developed to select the key outsourcing parts, which influence the economics of the vehicles with higher quality improvement priorities. According to the sequences of the key outsourcing parts, the supplier candidates of the key parts are investigated and determined. In stage II, a nonlinear mixed 0–1 integer programming (NLMIP) model is formulated to select the optimal supplier portfolio based on the total quality-related cost, system reliability, delivery time and customer complaints. The RPN-based method considering the nonlinear characteristics of failure severity is modified to determine the relative importance of each key part subject to its reliability. To resolve the SPKOP problem, the utility function and combined weighting technique are employed to cope with multiple conflicting objectives by the weighting technique. Next, a hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) with a local search strategy is designed to improve the search efficiency. A case study is conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model and the decision-making framework.

Exploring the impact of outsourcing on organizational performance

PurposeThe need for businesses to gain profit through the provision of high-quality services has driven the organizations to outsource business activities and functions that are considered not integral to the core business. The purpose of this paper is to identify key outsourced activities and to explore their influence on the organizational performance of the targeted locally owned oil and gas companies in Ghana. Also, the study explores key benefits and challenges associated with adopting outsourcing strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe primary data were collected using a survey from 80 participants working for different oil and gas companies in Ghana.FindingsThe study revealed that most of the outsourced activities include transport services, information technology (IT) consulting and business consulting services, system infrastructure provision and management and logistical services. Also, key outsourcing reasons were reducing operational costs, avoiding major investment costs in technology, providing consistent and improved service delivery, accessing current technology and expert knowledge and focusing more on core business activities. Outsourcing is significant to enhance the performance of an oil and gas company; however, outsourcing could also result in the conflict of firm culture with outsourced vendors, and inefficient management and loss of innovative capacity are possible negative effects of outsourcing.Research limitations/implicationsThe study targeted mainly locally owned oil and gas companies operating in Greater Accra regions of Ghana and including other areas is recommended in the future. Also, the research sample size was 80 participants for this study, and a larger sample should be used in the future.Originality/valueThere is a paucity of research in management outsourcing in Ghana’s oil and gas industry. To the best knowledge of the authors, this study presents the first research of its kind and the findings will be valuable for the targeted companies. The results from this study can also be used by other companies operating in similar oil and gas business environments operating in other oil and gas producing countries particularly in Africa and Asia. Also, the result from this study can greatly benefit other companies already adopting, or considering adopting, outsourcing and operate in similar service-providing sectors within Ghana or in other countries with similar business environments.

Benchmarking criteria for evaluating third-party logistics providers in South Africa

Background: In South Africa, deemed the ‘gateway to Africa’, there is limited evidence of the existence of a survey ranking third-party logistics providers (3PLs). This lack of comparative information of the major 3PLs based on key outsourcing and ranking criteria complicates the selection process for companies that intend to contract 3PLs.Objective: The purpose of this article was to determine the critical selection and ranking criteria for the creation of an index to evaluate 3PLs in South Africa for developing a 3PL benchmarking index.Method: Survey data were collected from 103 of the Top 500 Companies in Africa that use 3PLs and operate within the sectors that mostly outsource logistics services in South Africa. A factor analysis method was employed.Results: Three factors for 3PLs selection converged: service quality, information management and compliance, and collaboration. The top three ranked categories for 3PLs selection are cost and price structure, service delivery and the relationship with the 3PL provider. Most respondents (90%) confirmed a need for a 3PLs index in South Africa.Conclusion: The results help managers with the strategic selection of 3PLs as these critical logistics outsourcing selection criteria can be used to evaluate and rank 3PLs prior to contracting. Based on the selection criteria for logistics outsourcing identified and ranked in this article, a ranking index for 3PLs in South Africa can be developed.

Retained Organizations in IT Outsourcing

IT outsourcing is a strategic option which enables companies to focus on their core competencies. Over time however, many outsourcing arrangements suffer from severe problems. While the design of retained organizations is generally seen as a critical element, there is hardly any empirical evidence on how the choice of the organizational setup is linked to the occurrence of outsourcing management problems later on. In this work, a quantitative study across various outsourcing arrangements is used to identify the key outsourcing management problems and their interdependency with organizational attributes of retained organizations. It is shown that the key problems differ by outsourcing degree, and critical organizational attributes for each of these problems are unveiled. The paper’s objective is to enhance the design of retained organizations to enable more mature and successful outsourcing solutions as well as to provide foundations for future IS research.

An explorative study of established software leaders and their key outsourcing partners

This study reviews global operations of leading Information Technology (IT) and software development companies from the USA and India. These companies over the years have become key IT players in software outsourcing in the world. As the industry evolves, India is endorsing Software Technology Parks throughout the country. Established software leaders in the USA benefit from cost savings and increased flexibility derived from such outsourcing partnerships enabling them to stay competitive in the global market. Low-cost technology destinations like India are benefiting from the increase in disposable income supporting expansion of the global economy. The analyses using Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT), financial performance data and Porter's five-forces indicate a common business strategy of Indian IT and software companies. They do not compete head on with the US counterparts and instead focus on acquiring niche outsourcing markets that are still open and growing rapidly due to worldwide slowdown in IT spending budgets.

An investigation into IS outsourcing success: the role of quality and change management

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) has been recognised as a means of achieving organisational strategy. Information System (IS) outsourcing causes deep impact to organisations, such as managerial structure change, task and jobs changes, people and relationship changes and information technology and infrastructure changes. Therefore, finding effective ways to manage organisational changes is a key outsourcing success factor. This paper proposes a model to illustrate the interrelationships between and among the constructs of outsourcing competence, outsourcing change management, outsourcing quality and outsourcing success.

Table of Contents

Abstract Make It ‘Skimmable’ — People Will Read It Free Online Survey Tool Professional Opinion Focus On Your Strengths, Not Others' Weaknesses Community Relations Efforts Maximize Publicity for Your Community Service Project Tips for Writing Effective E‐mail Subject Lines Bringing Attention to Your Mission, Services Take Advantage of National News Coverage Honing Your Writing Skills Overcoming Writer's Block Useful Resources Chase's Calendar of Events Helps With Story Ideas Creating a Shared Vision Identity Crisis? How to Define Your Organization's Mission Community Relations Actions Be a Catalyst For Community Service Among Employees Six Practical Ways to Garner Testimonials Public Speaking Tip Do You Have an Ambassador Program? Four Ways to Put Your Marketing Plan into Action Event Planning Five Rules for Selecting the Best Emcee for Your Event Advance Planning Is Key Outsourcing Considerations What to Expect From a Public Relations Firm Serving Your Members Get Your Member Listserv Jumping Writing Tip Respect By Association Best Practices Nonprofit Organizations Can Learn From New Spam Law What Are Technology Providers Doing to Stop Spam? Websites of Interest Support Affinity Group Development Marketing for Results Marketing Decisions Should Include a Mix of Key Factors Enhancing Your Organization's Image Face Your Organization's Weakest Perceptions Head‐On Effective Internal Communications Session Allows Employees To Provide Input About Internal Communication Your Publication's Frequency Matters Creative Centennials Results‐oriented Planning Link Your Corporate Marketing Plan to Strategic Plan Publications Budgets Help Your Development Shop Create a Publications Budget

Software as a Service via Application Service Providers (ASPs) Model of Sourcing: An Exploratory Study

This paper explores the range of software sourcing options and compares the characteristics of the software as a service via application service providers (ASPs) model of sourcing against three other key outsourcing models. Following this analysis, the results of an exploratory study of the software as a service model of sourcing within the UK business context are presented. By contrasting the characteristics of the various sourcing models against the results of the survey, the paper concludes ASPs who focus their marketing and develop effective client handling skills are likely to succeed and grow despite the current economic downturn.