Implications of service processes outsourcing on firm value

Outsourcing is one of the important strategies acknowledged by firms recently. With an increase in globalization and the proliferation of information technology, more and more firms outsource not only their production but also their service processes including back office business processes and information technology functions to external suppliers. Recognizing the criticality of outsourcing service processes in marketing management, the authors build on the outsourcing literature and integrate it with the finance literature on market efficiency to develop a conceptual framework. The authors collect outsourcing announcements from the Wall Street Journal and business news available at Lexis-Nexis between 1995 and 2005 to conduct an event analysis. Results indicate that outsourcing in general creates positive firm value, i.e., cumulative abnormal returns; however, such effects vary depending upon different levels and dimensions of an outsourcing decision. The authors conclude with managerial implications and future research at the end.     

Portfolio of controls in outsourcing relationships for global new product development

Due to increasing globalization and technological discontinuities, firms strive to develop new product capabilities and flexibilities by engaging in outsourcing activities and adopting modular systems. However, these strategies contain risks of opportunistic expropriation of tacit knowledge and costs related to monitoring sourcing partners who are geographically and culturally distant. This study examines the antecedents of control mechanisms through which firms manage the risks and costs associated with outsourcing relationships in global technology-intensive markets. Modularity in design is hypothesized as a moderator of model relationships because it can serve as a substitute for formal or informal controls in a “controls portfolio”.     

Reconfiguring supplier relationships between local and global: History matters

Small and medium-sized companies are increasingly facing international markets as part of their processes of growth and development. A great deal of literature deals with different patterns of growth and international development that are specific to SMEs with respect to large companies. Fewer studies have been conducted on the reconfiguration of company supplier relationships involved in these processes. This paper focuses on the role played by the consolidated set of company supplier relationships when the firm faces some critical stages in its process of development, i.e., growth from small to mid-sized and the implementation of new ventures abroad accessing new business relationships with international suppliers. A multiple and longitudinal case study shows how the local set of supplier relationships of four mid-sized Italian mechanical companies acting in industrial districts has played an important role in shaping the emerging set of supplier relationships and addressing companies' actions in their growth and internationalization processes.     

Invisible work, invisible skills: interactive customer service as articulation work

The concept of emotional labour provides an incomplete account of interactive service work, underplaying its invisible cognitive and non-routine elements. In interactive work, from customer service jobs in the fast food industry to 'knowledge work' and at those levels in between on which we focus here, many jobs involve 'articulation work'—the often unacknowledged management of awkward intersections among the social worlds of people, technology and organisations.     

专业化服务是搞好独立工矿企业后勤服务的有效途径

承担现代"煤都"主要后勤服务业务的神东煤炭公司,成立以来,一直坚持专业化管理、专业化服务,积极为主业减负,为主业连续八年实现煤炭产量"千万吨"跨越、建设成为国内煤炭行业的龙头老大作出了突出贡献。文章认为,专业化管理、专业化服务是神东公司今后进一步提升后勤服务质量、服务品味的必选,也是类似神府东胜这种独立工矿企业搞好后勤部务的有效途径。     

Liability of foreignness in global competition? Financial service affiliates in the city of London

This study was inspired by the observation that foreign financial service firms operating in the City of London do not suffer the liability of foreignness to the extent suggested by theory. To examine the reasons for this departure from theory, the study advances a theoretical framework that distinguishes between three types of advantages that together account for the competitive performance of MNEs relative to that of indigenous firms. Empirical analyses of a sample of 296 foreign financial service firms in the City of London show that in this particular context major sources of competitive performance are the firm‐specific advantages and the advantages of multinationality, where British firms may not necessarily possess an advantage over foreign firms. An examination of the validity of the findings, in order to assess the extent to which this situation is unique to the City of London or rather signifies a more general trend that requires theoretical modifications and extensions, is emphasized as a major task for future research. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Women, social skill and interactive service work in telephone call centres

This paper contributes to current debates about gender, work and skill in the service economy, focusing specifically on the case of women's employment in telephone call centres. The paper asks whether call centre employers are capitalising on women's 'feminine' social skills, and examines the degree to which these skills are being developed, acknowledged and recognised.     

Use of rules in decision-making in government outsourcing

The paper reports research on the nature of use of rules in decision making process by government entities in outsourcing commercial activities. The study used multiple data sources such as in-depth personal interviews of multiple categories of respondents, documentary evidence, and observation. The findings indicated that Government organizations use un-written ground rules as the main means of managing outsourcing processes.     

Role of absorptive capabilities in outsourcing the headquarters selling task in the United States

Manufacturers often outsource headquarters selling task to sales and marketing agencies. Headquarters selling task is one of the most outsourced sales and marketing functions and it entails all the activities that a manufacturer conducts in order to sell its product line to the headquarters of a retailer. Thus, effective management of headquarters selling task has a strategic importance for the manufacturer. This study examines the role of absorptive capabilities in outsourcing headquarters selling task. Using resource-advantage theory, this study proposes a theoretical model to link the resources and absorptive capabilities of the outsourcer (manufacturer) and the outsourcee (sales and marketing agency) to performance outcomes. Using data from field interviews of managers an empirical model was tested. The results showed that resources of both the outsourcer and the outsourcee are important in turning potential complementarities into higher outsourcing performance. Contrary to the common belief that outsourcing is a one-sided transaction where only the outsourcee is responsible from the performance outcomes, this study suggests that both parties involved need to combine their resource assortments in the accomplishment of the task.     

玩具巨头乐高借外包完善线上渠道

海外玩具巨头乐高借力外包模式杀人中国电商市场。据悉,于2010年进人中国市场的乐高联合电商外包企业兴长信达近日合作搭建的天猫官方旗舰店已正式上线。分析人：上表示,鉴于对本土网民和运营模式的不熟悉,海外企业借力第三方电商服务企业铺设线上渠道成为其“触网”的最低耗选择。     

A decision method for supplier selection in multi-service outsourcing

Although supplier selection in multi-service outsourcing is a very important decision problem, research concerning this issue is still relatively scarce. This paper proposes a decision method for selecting a pool of suppliers for the provision of different service process/product elements. It pioneers the use of collaborative utility between partner firms for supplier selection. A multi-objective model is built to select desired suppliers. This model is proved to be NP-hard, so we develop a multi-objective algorithm based on Tabu search for solving it. We then use an example to show the applicability of the proposed model and algorithm. Extensive computational experiments are also conducted to further test the performance of the proposed algorithm.     

完善物流外包在医药领域的应用

目的 分析我国医药企业实施物流外包这一策略的原因及重要性,探讨医药企业正确选择供应商的方法和与供应商建立良好、互利、长期的合作关系时应注意的问题.方法 本文通过收集和整理文献、查找资料的方法,借鉴国外的物流外包理论和实践,对医药行业中的物流外包进行研究.结果 和结论 本文提出了医药企业在实施物流外包策略时应慎重选择供应商、明确责任义务及做好事前防范工作等方法,以使医药企业在今后的经营发展中能更好地实施物流外包这一策略.     

Offshore outsourcing of services: An evolutionary perspective

Offshore outsourcing is gaining increasing importance and attention in both theory and practice. The purpose of this research is to use nine in-depth case studies to analyze the evolution of offshore services outsourcing with regard to how expectations and governance structures change over time. Five testable propositions are presented, building on institutional theory, transaction cost, and resource-based perspectives. The cases demonstrate that offshore outsourcing is initiated because of increasing internal and external pressure to conform and reduce costs. Moreover, companies “chase” efficiency improvements in other geographic locations. But after reducing costs, companies discover more strategic benefits such as the potential to increase quality and market share. Importantly, as buyer–supplier relationships move from tactical to more strategic, expectations and governance structures change.     

浅议神东矿区后勤服务节能减排工作

本文简要介绍了神府东胜矿区基本情况,神东煤炭公司主要业务开展情况.并就神东煤炭公司如何开展节能减排工作,从树立"四全"节能减排管理理念、通过技术进步、加强管理实现节能减排;积极开展废弃物综合利用,大力发展循环经济;全员参与节能减排、加强节能减排等方面进行了阐述.     

Gender Differences in Sorting

In this paper, we investigate gender differences in workers’ career development within and outside the firm to explain the existence of gender wage gaps. Using Danish employer–employee matched data, we find that good female workers are more likely to move to better firms than men but are less likely to be promoted. Furthermore, these differences in career advancement widen after the first child is born. Our findings suggest that career impediments in certain firms cause the most productive female workers to seek better jobs in firms in which there is less gender bias.     

2001年世界化工电子商务回顾

尽管化工电子商务网站的数量在２００１年没有增加很多，但现有网站及化工行业电子商务实践者的各项新举措，却显示出化工行业的人们开始冷静而务实地探讨电子商务的真正价值。越来越多的化工企业开始相信网上交易的优势，化工产品的网上交易量持续攀升，其热销局面与今年全球化工市场的低迷状态形成了鲜明的反差。前不久，世界著名的化工电子商务网站ChemConnect宣布其网上交易量连续第七个季度创下纪录，其２００１年二季度网上贸易量比一季度增长了３０％，网站有望在２００２年底或２００３年初进入盈利期。而CheMatch的网上交易量则…     

Gender Effects in Grievance Arbitration

This study investigates arbitrators' decisions in 557 suspension cases and reveals that, other things equal, male arbitrators were 74 per cent more likely to sustain the grievances of female grievants than male grievants. There was no evidence, however, that female arbitrators treat male and female grievants differently. A review of studies on gender effects in arbitration suggests a weak gender effect where male arbitrators are more lenient with female grievants than with male grievants.