Outsourcing Agreements Research Articles

Best frenemies? A characterization of TNC and transit users

The emergence of transportation network companies (TNCs) has created new options for travelers and fierce competition for taxis and public transportation (PT). While the literature focuses either on TNCs or PT users, we contrast individuals/households who use only PT, only TNCs, or both by estimating a cross-nested logit on 2017 NHTS data. We analyzed both individuals (for consistency with most of the literature) and households (to account for intrahousehold travel dependencies). Our results show that the unit of analysis (individuals vs. households) does not matter much for our dataset. We found that individuals/households who use either PT or TNCs or both share socio-economic characteristics, reside in similar areas, and differ from individuals/households who use neither transit nor TNCs. In addition, individuals/households who use both PT and TNCs tend to be composed of Millennials and Generation Z, with a higher income, more education, no children, and fewer vehicles than drivers. Our findings highlight the danger for PT of entering into outsourcing agreements with TNCs, neglecting captive riders, and further exposing choice riders to TNCs.

Sustainable cost reductions obtained by using a fourth party logistics provider

Background: In a rapidly changing global business environment, the outsourcing of logistics activities to fourth party logistics (4PL) service providers is growing in popularity as a strategy for efficiency and customer service improvements. However, there are very few empirical studies on logistics outsourcing performance. In addition, there is a lack of information on the effectiveness of a 4PL model, especially from a South African perspective. Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to determine if the use of a 4PL model to manage the courier distribution for a major retailer in South Africa was able to achieve ongoing cost savings for the client. Method: This research entails a case study of a large non-food retailer in South Africa. Secondary quantitative distribution cost data covering a 10-year period was analysed, using a time series method. The findings were verified through semi-structured interviews of key personnel involved in the implementation and management of the outsourcing contract. Results: The outsourcing of courier distribution management resulted in the targeted cost savings for the client organisation to be exceeded. Cost savings were consistent over a 10-year period. Conclusion: The findings of this study supports the theory that the outsourcing of logistics functions can result in sustainable cost savings for clients if done properly. It adds to the limited body of independent evidence that exists on the matter of sustainable results obtained from 4PL outsourcing agreements.

A novel hesitant-fuzzy-based group decision approach for outsourcing risk

Outsourcing is recognized as a strategic instrument for companies to move towards diversified operation advantages and efficient global market. However, outsourcing agreements may fail due to insufficient risk consideration and evaluation. This requires an effective risk evaluation approach that necessitates an entire comprehension of the system, its requirements and dimensions. This paper proposes a novel fuzzy group multiple-criteria decision-making approach through integrating triangular fuzzy hesitant sets (TFHS), Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and combined compromise solution (CoCoSo) algorithm. This approach (F-FMEA-CoCoSo, henceforth) analyzes and evaluates the possible risks level of alternative outsourcing providers. It hereby provides measurable information for managers according to the linguistic opinions of industrial experts. Utilization of hesitant fuzzy variables allows decision making participants to state their opinion more precisely. A case study of an Iranian chemical company is used to exemplify the applicability and suitability of the proposed F-FMEA-CoCoSo approach. The model reflects an analytical approach while experts are experiencing considerable uncertainty in risky conditions of outsourcing operations. CoCoSo contains an integrated approach of compromise solutions and its utilization enables investigators to assure results reliability which is proven via the sensitivity analysis. Through this study, we found that risk evaluation of outsourcing providers must consider four key-factors: multi-experts, multi-criteria, multi-uncertainties and measurability.

ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЕ И МЕТОДИКА ОЦЕНКИ ФИНАНСОВОЙ УСТОЙЧИВОСТИ ФИЗИЧЕСКИХ ЛИЦ

Current conditions for conducting financial and economic activities create the necessity to develop a methodology for the financial stability assessment of both legal entities and individuals. It is related to the implementation of entrepreneurial activities by physical entities as individual entrepreneurs, the delivery of professional services as self-employed, and the conclusion of outsourcing agreements. However, the analysis of approaches to the definition of the concept of financial stability of individuals allowed concluding that this issue has not received proper theoretical understanding. The gap between the theory of finance and the practice of conducting financial and economic activities formed the goal of this study: to define and develop criteria for the individual's financial stability assessment. The paper analyzes the approaches to the definition of both the financial stability of a commercial organization and the methods for its assessment and compares the financial and economic activities of legal and physical entities. The paper defines the financial stability of a physical entity, which is understood as its ability to fulfill its obligations at its own expense in the long term. The author developed absolute and relative indicators for the individual's financial stability assessment. The author uses the saving rate, the market value of a property, and the volume of long-term loans and borrowings as absolute indicators of the financial stability of an individual. The market level of the individual's financial leverage and the ratio of fixed financial costs coverage are used as relative indicators. The application of the developed absolute and relative indicators for assessing the financial stability of individuals will rationalize the process of selecting counterparties operating as individuals, improve the quality of financial monitoring of the activities of individual entrepreneurs, and reduce the risks of credit institutions when granting loans to individuals.

Responsibilities of the Marketing Authorisation Holders in Respect of GMP Compliance (Review)

Introduction. The article is focused on differences in quality assurance-related obligations and responsibilities between Marketing Authorisation Holders (MAHs) and manufacturing authorisation holder (manufacturers) in pharmaceutical industry. In case of outsourcing and technical agreements there is a need to differentiate responsibilities related to quality assurance between the above mentioned categories.Text. The guidelines for the pharmaceutical sector of the European Union (EU) provide guidance on the responsibilities of the MAHs in relation to the GMP rules, which are scattered throughout the various chapters of the GMP and its appendices. In addition, certain provisions on this topic are contained in the EU directives. With this in mind the European Medicines Agency (EMA) issued in January 2020 a draft Reflection paper on Good manufacturing practice and Marketing Authorisation Holders. The draft clarifies that while certain activities of an MAH may be delegated to the manufacturer, MAH retains ultimate responsibility for the performance of a medicinal product, its safety, quality and efficacy. The important obligation of MAH in this context is to facilitate GMP compliance by establishing a robust two-way communication system with national competent authorities, manufacturing sites, Qualified Persons (QPs) certifying batches before release, and other interested parties. The MAH ought to communicate to manufacturing personnel, normally through QPs, production processes and related quality control procedures, including subsequent variations, described in registration dossiers.Conclusion. A general one conclusion: in view of rapid developments in the EU GMP Guide, the Eurasian Economic Union GMP requirements ought to be updated. In respect of specific responsibilities of MAH pertaining to GMP compliance the EMA draft Reflection paper merits attention as a guidance regarding separation of obligations and responsibilities between MAH and personnel of manufacturing sights.

Principles of Drawing up Tax Consulting Outsourcing Agreements

The basic objective of the article is to indicate the principles of drawing up tax consulting outsourcing agreements, to analyze the scope of such agreements, and identify the benefits and threats resulting from the correct construction thereof. The first part includes a review of the literature in the scope of outsourcing. Then, the results of empirical research are presented. Anonymous studies were conducted among medium and small enterprises using questionnaires.

Cui Bono, Cui Malo? Contractual Complementarity for Rent Appropriation in Strategic Outsourcing

With the rise of strategic outsourcing, the distribution of skills and competences between partners grows increasingly uneven. This misalignment reflects the complex distribution of responsibilities under outsourcing arrangements. Because each firm in an outsourcing arrangement may have to surrender some control over tasks and processes performed by its partner, agency problems may arise on both sides. To resolve this tension, partnering firms design incentive contracts that include liability sharing instruments to align efforts and mitigate risk in the event of litigation. Although liabilities are generally negotiated simultaneously with provisions to share future revenues from outsourcing, the outsourcing literature reveals little about the complementarity of such instruments and their overall effect on value distribution. To address this lacuna, we develop a theoretical model and a set of simulations, which we test on a sample of R&D outsourcing agreements from the pharmaceutical industry. In our framework, complementarity among royalties, bonus payments, and liability clauses determines configurations of contractual instruments that apportion rents and allocate future liability costs. We find also that two boundary conditions can affect the outsourcing relationship: bargaining power and each party’s relative knowledge.

PERJANJIAN KERJA PEKERJA OUTSOURCING PADA PERUSAHAAN PENYEDIA JASA CALL CENTRE BERDASARKAN HUKUM KETENAGAKERJAAN


 The implementation of work agreements for outsourcing workers in service provider companies in practice is often not in accordance with the provisions in the legislation so as to harm and eliminate protection for outsourced workers. This article aims to provide an overview of the analysis of employment agreements and legal protection of outsourced workers in call center service provider companies based on Labor Law. The method used here is normative juridical, namely by conducting research that focuses on library data or secondary data. The specification of the research carried out is analytical descriptive by examining the facts in terms of outsourcing work agreements and their protection. Outsourcing workers labor agreement practiced at call center service providers are not fully implemented optimally, the contracts for Temporary Employment Agreements (PKWT) for outsourced workers have been repeatedly renewed, so that the PKWT has legally changed its status into a working relationship under an Employment Agreement (PKWTT). Legal protection for outsourced workers is regulated in legislation. However, in reality there are still shortcomings in outsourcing practices in Indonesia, namely the difference between legal protection regulations and the implementation of their enforcement and the absence of strict sanctions. For outsourced workers who feel that their rights have been violated and violated, they can apply for protection of rights through the mechanism of industrial dispute resolution according to the mandate of the law.
 Keywords: Employment, Outsourcing Workers, employment.

Nutrition quality assessment on industrial enterprises with various service types

Dietary intake (2 week menu) was evaluated on 4 metallurgic enterprises, with assessment of eating habits and anthropometry in 370 workers, using automated informational system “Calculation system for catering”. The eating habits were assessed through the authors’ questionnaire. According to the study results, the canteens which are units within industrial enterprises are socially oriented, demonstrate higher motivation in service quality, service schedule more corresponding to diet scheme of various shift workers, more variability of dishes, if compared to the canteens working on outsourcing agreements. The canteens working on outsourcing agreements are interested more in profits — that causes more disturbances, lower food quality and discontentment from the workers. Control over the menu formation on the enterprises is poor. Complex meals for therapeutic prophylactic diet, formed without consideration of nutritive value, appeared to have low protein and high fat contents.

Comparing the why, what and how of performance-based and Vested outsourcing models in CRE

The concepts of Vested outsourcing® (as developed by University of Tennessee [UT] researchers) and performance-based contracting have significantly gained in popularity as more and more corporate real estate (CRE) organisations look to increase the value of their outsourcing relationships. This paper builds on ‘Choosing the right sourcing model for CRE outsourcing agreements’ which was featured in Corporate Real Estate Journal (CREJ) Vol. 7, No. 3 by providing a comparison of performance-based and Vested models. Both models share many of the same principles such as focus on the supplier’s expertise and considering value above ‘price’. However, performance-based contracts and vested are distinctly different in their focus, application, methodology and resulting relationships. This paper explores the similarities and major differences between these two proven approaches. It also provides guidance relative to when to use each model.

Choosing the right sourcing model for CRE outsourcing agreements

Modern outsourcing is more than a typical make– buy decision. Rather, there is a wide range of sourcing business models that today’s practitioners can choose from. Unfortunately, the fundamental nature of how goods and services are procured is not keeping pace with best practices of tapping into more mature sourcing business models; many business professionals wrongly assume that a transaction-based business model is the only way to architect a supplier contract. This paper provides an easy to understand framework for classifying the various contracting approaches along a sourcing continuum. A key goal of the paper is to help organisations not just understand the various models, but also learn when to use each model. The paper suggests an easy to follow ‘Business Model Mapping’ approach organisations can use to make the decision about what is the most appropriate sourcing business model for their situation.

KONSEP IDEAL PEMBUATAN AKTA PERJANJIAN KERJA OUTSOURCING WAKTU TERTENTU (STUDI DI BANK JATENG)

Research on "The Ideal Concept of Establishing a Deed of Working Outsourcing of Certain Time (Study In Bank Jateng)" aims to know and analyze outsourcing agreement for certain time in Bank Central Java still cause uncertainty to employees and the ideal concept of employee outsourcing agreement certain time. This research approaches sociological jurisprudence and data collection through interviews, document studies and bibliography, as well as qualitative data analysis.Establishment of Deed of Working Agreement of Outsourcing of Certain Time in Central Java Bank has not applied the principle of freedom of full contract or using standard agreement. The employment agreement still creates uncertainty for employees because of employment agreements such as provisions requiring employees to submit an original diploma that leads to uncertain employee futures because employees do not have a chance to find another job better and there is no provision for contract renewal. In addition, there is still the influence of Central Java Bank in the work agreement between the providers of labor with workers whereas Central Java Bank is not a party to the agreement or the worker has no legal relationship with the Central Java bank. The effect is in terms of placement of labor and the termination of the employment agreement and the absence of a guarantee whether the workers will work continuously on the employment provider. Barriers to employees who have completed a certain time outsourcing agreement that is no term extension of the contract and Bank Central Java can not intervene directly on a certain time outsourcing agreement between PT Bhumi Elang Perkasa with labor security unit that is not renewed his contract period. The solution selects recruitment of contract employees who have completed certain time outsourcing agreements as permanent employees and extend the contract period in certain time outsourcing agreement in the provision of security unit personnel between PT Bhumi Elang Perkasa and Bank Jateng Ideally Employee Employee Outsourcing Working arrangements should consider the principles of the agreement, particularly the principle of freedom of contract. Although this is very difficult because of standard agreements that have been standard applied by the company because it is related and influenced by company regulations. Companies should provide a wider protection of labor to create a balanced working relationship. One effort that can be done is to provide an opportunity for the workforce to contribute to determine the contents of the agreement and or to approve or disapprove of certain things that may be done by both parties. One of the provisions that can be accommodated is the provision of the obligation to submit a diploma as a guarantee, the terms of the certainty of employment, and the working relationship between the provider of labor, the user labor and the labor itself.Keywords: Deed, Specific Time Working Agreement, outsourcing

Location, shared suppliers and the innovation performance of R&D outsourcing agreements

The location of an international supplier constitutes a crucial variable when outsourcing research and development (R&D) services, especially if the supplier also serves competitors. Even though shared suppliers have refined capabilities, they may act as hubs for knowledge transfers, exposing their clients to the risk of knowledge leakages to their competitors. Building on Transaction Cost Theory, we argue that a client’s ability to benefit from having a shared supplier will be dependent on the appropriability regime of the outsourcing location, whose effectiveness depends on the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection within the country, and the tacit and specific nature of the service outsourced. Using primary data at the transaction level from a survey to 170 technology-intensive firms from the EU and the U.S., we find that sharing R&D suppliers with competitors appear to mimic some of the advantages and disadvantages of being collocated with them, especially in countries offering weak IPR protection.

Negotiating behavior in service outsourcing. An exploratory case study analysis

Despite the well-documented importance of the outcome of negotiation for strategic success, little attention has been paid to negotiations in outsourcing agreements. In view of this gap in the literature, this paper addresses the contextual factors that better explain the negotiation behavior displayed in increasingly frequent service outsourcing agreements. Exploratory research, based on the analysis of four cases of a service outsourcing negotiation process, leads to a series of proposals that form the basis for a further research agenda. Our findings suggest that negotiating behavior in service outsourcing can be explained by the power relationship, time pressure and, in particular, by the type of service outsourced. The latter appears to influence the impact of other contextual factors on negotiating behavior.

Legal Construction of Outsourcing Agreement

The features of outsourcing agreement to build its legal structure are researched. The proposed legal construction of the researched agreement is presented as an integrated system of elements of legal content taking into account the outsourcing specific. The proposed construction of the contract is based on the common law construction of agreement. The internal unity of legal construction of outsourcing agreement is revealed through the detailing of mutual will of economic entities and their arrangement about the agreement content of the agreement and its legal aim. The agreement content of parties is represented as a complex of the rights and obligations including the following specifics: the subject of agreement; the execution order the assumed obligations by the parties; the mutuality of interest in outsourcing agreements, where the functions of customer economic management by outsourcer are added; allocation of risk and responsibilities of the parties under the agreement. An universal character of this legal construction allows to use it in every concrete situation without changing its essence but with the ability to reflect the characteristics of each specific outsourcing agreement.

Outsourcing of knowledge processes: a literature review

Purpose – This paper aims to review research on outsourcing of knowledge processes to establish the current body of knowledge and, on this basis, to identify gaps in our understanding. This action will justify further research activities and clarify where no future research is currently needed. Design/methodology/approach – The study consists of a systematic review of 24 refereed empirical articles on outsourcing of knowledge processes. Findings – Five themes were identified: outsourcing of knowledge processes, outsourcing and collaborative agreements between knowledge-based firms, factors affecting successful knowledge outsourcing, knowledge management and knowledge outsourcing and other outsourcing issues. There seems to be a lack of understanding concerning knowledge process outsourcing. Research limitations/implications – This study may not have enabled a complete coverage of all empirical articles in the field of knowledge process outsourcing. Yet, it seems reasonable to assume that the review process covered a large share of studies available. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no systematic literature review on this topic has previously been published in academic journals.

The Role of Contract Negotiation and Industry Structure in Production Outsourcing

Despite the spread of cost‐driven outsourcing practices, academic research cautions that suppliers' cost advantage may weaken manufacturers' bargaining positions in negotiating outsourcing agreements, thereby hurting their profitability. In this study, we attempt to further understand the strategic impact of low‐cost outsourcing on manufacturers' profitability by investigating the contractual form of outsourcing agreements and the industry structure of the upstream supply market. We consider a two‐tier supply chain system, consisting of two competing manufacturers, who have the option to produce in‐house or to outsource to an upstream supplier with lower cost. To reach an outsourcing agreement, each manufacturer engages in bilateral negotiation with her supplier, who may be an exclusive supplier or a common supplier serving both manufacturers. Our analysis shows that wholesale‐price contracts always mitigate the competition between manufacturers regardless of whether they compete with price or quantity. In contrast, two‐part tariffs intensify the competition when the manufacturers compete with quantity, but soften it when they compete with price. As a result, when outsourcing with two‐part tariffs, the manufacturers may earn lower profits than they would from in‐house production, although the suppliers are more cost efficient. This suggests that managers have to be wary about the downside of using coordinating contracts such as two‐part tariffs when pursuing low‐cost outsourcing strategies. Our analysis also sheds some light on the profitability of using an exclusive supplier for outsourcing. When outsourcing with wholesale‐price contracts, the competing manufacturers are better off outsourcing to an exclusive supplier. However, when outsourcing with two‐part tariffs, the manufacturers may earn higher profits by outsourcing to a common supplier than to an exclusive one when the manufacturers' bargaining power is sufficiently strong (weak) under quantity (price) competition.

An Examination of the Importance of Core Competencies and Relationship Management in IT Outsourcing Agreements

In spite of the fact that IT outsourcing has been repeatedly proven to improve firms’ performance, few studies of the strategic importance of IT outsourcing have been undertaken in Eastern cultural contexts. To better understand IT outsourcing performance in an Eastern culture, the authors draw on the strategic orientation-performance framework as they investigate the unique capabilities of firms that determine IT outsourcing performance. The authors highlight the strategic role of client-vendor relationships, and explain that these relationships are influenced by IT outsourcing process management capacity, core competency orientation, and relationship-specific investment in IT outsourcing practices. The quality of this client-vendor relationship, in turn, affects the performance of the IT outsourcing unit. Empirically examining their research model through structural equation modeling, the authors present new insights for IT outsourcing by emphasizing the role of strategic decision making. The authors’ findings can enable client firms in Eastern cultures to improve the outcomes of their outsourcing decisions.

R&D Outsourcing: AstraZeneca teams up with two major research contractors

The British drugmaker AstraZeneca has established two research outsourcing agreements as part of the restructuring of its R&D organization. In Beijing, the Chinese pharmaceutical R&D contractor Pharmaron will set up a dedicated research center for AstraZeneca that can accommodate “several hundred” scientists, according to Pharmaron. Under a multiyear agreement, the facility will provide AstraZeneca discovery services in chemistry, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, and efficacy screening. It will be located within a campus where Pharmaron already operates an R&D center for Merck Serono. AstraZeneca also selected Charles River Laboratories, with headquarters in Wilmington, Mass., as its preferred partner for regulated safety assessment and development drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics. The firms say the deal will increase Charles River’s annual sales, which were $1.1 billion last year, by about 1%. AstraZeneca is in the midst of a major restructuring of its R&D organization. Early this year, it annou...

Complejidad del intercambio, la dependencia de recursos y la subcontratación a largo plazo de servicios de I+D

We analyze the preference of technological firms for long-term relationships, instead of short-term contracts, as they engage in R&D outsourcing agreements with external partners. We draw from transaction cost theory and resource dependence theory to argue that this choice will be mainly determined by the attributes of the R&D service outsourced, and the company's need to secure the availability of external resources on a long-term basis. Using original international survey data on 90 R&D outsourcing agreements by European and U.S. companies operating in technology-intensive industries, we find that long-term relationships are preferred when the attributes of asset-specificity and frequency are present and when the level of resource dependence between the exchange parties increases. On the other hand, companies seem to prefer short-term contracts in order to follow a flexible R&D sourcing strategy. This preference appears to be higher for those companies that are more technologically competent, and when the underlying motive for outsourcing the R&D service is increasing operational flexibility, or overcoming the liability of foreignness when entering new markets.