Offshoring knowledge and service work: A conceptual model and research agenda

This paper presents two complementary conceptual models that help shed light on the complexities of offshoring service and knowledge work. In developing the model, we draw upon existing literature in the realm of service operations and delivery and build on insights from allied areas such as management and practice. The models offer a simple yet powerful way to conceptualize offshoring of knowledge and service work and to identify the inherent challenges that such strategies entail. The evolutionary model of offshoring parallels well-established work in the manufacturing literature to present a sequential view of building organizational competence in offshoring. The implications of the conceptual models have been discussed in a range of propositions that can be viewed as foundations for new inquiry in this research stream.     

Offshoring and reshoring: U.S. insights and research challenges

The phenomenon of reshoring to the U.S. has received wide attention ever since it became a political platform for U.S. politicians during the last presidential election. The economic downturn, a heightened emphasis on sustainability, and increasing customer expectations for flexibility and improved cost performance drove firms to re-consider the appropriate “shoring” decision. The intent of this research note is to add a U.S.-centric perspective to the “shoring” debate.     

Offshoring technology innovation: A case study of rare-earth technology

Many US firms are improving their individual competitiveness by offshoring manufacturing operations, services and, increasingly, knowledge work. Although research to date has maintained that these practices are beneficial to the offshoring firm and national economies, by reducing costs and expanding markets, little is known about the longer term effect of offshoring on the rate of innovation of home economies. This paper suggests that offshoring practices have adverse effects on innovation at the national home base. The analysis uses patents in the rare-earth element industry, a high-tech area which is among those that have evolved the furthest towards outsourcing and relocation away from the US and to developing countries. Looking at the rare-earth industry can provide insights in identifying potential long term impacts of offshoring on innovation because many other US industries are likely to adopt similar offshoring strategies.     

Offshoring and backshoring: A multiple case study analysis

Motivations underscoring offshoring and backshoring are typically investigated as separate entities in the academic literature. This separation undermines a deeper comprehension of the two phenomena, and implicitly denies the conceptualization of backshoring as a possible step of the firm internationalization process. Our paper seeks to fill this gap by (1) understanding the relations (if any) among offshoring and backshoring motivations at firm level; (2) exploring whether backshoring is a “failure” of the offshoring initiative, or rather the evolution of the firm's competitive and location strategies. A content-based literature review provides the base for the identification of the key motives for offshoring and backshoring, which are then organised using a theory-grounded framework. Next, we conduct a multiple case study analysis based on four companies, searching for common patterns in offshoring and subsequent backshoring initiatives. Cases allow understanding how the motivations (Why) connect with the governance modes (How), and the location choice (Where). Building on the case findings, the paper presents some propositions for future empirical research.     

Effective strategies for internal outsourcing and offshoring of business services: An empirical investigation

The growing pressure to reduce costs and improve efficiency induces many organizations to undertake shared services initiatives. This consolidation and streamlining of common business functions is also known as insourcing, in-house services, business services, or staff services. While adoption of a shared service structure is viewed by many as an appropriate strategy to pursue, most companies still struggle to devise optimal strategies and to generate adequate returns on investments for their projects, because none of the approaches that are commonly adopted is recognized as universally effective.     

Offshore outsourcing of professional services: A transaction cost economics perspective

This research utilizes the framework of transaction cost economics (TCE) to develop an understanding of how firms manage the costs and risks of offshore outsourcing of professional services. This research examines the perspectives of eight organizations through interviews with 10 high-ranking supply management executives. The paper first explores the rationale for offshore outsourcing among the organizations studied. Using the tenants of TCE, this paper postulates that fixed costs of establishing the relationship dominate the variable costs of day-to-day transactions, and that organizations will not offshore outsource areas where there is high perceived degree of unmanageable risk. The paper expands on themes provided by TCE and offers some lessons learned, and guidelines for managing and controlling offshore outsourced services relationships.     

The impact of a firm's make, pseudo-make, or buy strategy on product performance

The bulk of the product architecture and make-buy choice literature deals with product architecture changes from integral to modular form. This development is often associated with a firm's tendency to change from a make to a buy strategy. However, a few studies investigate the change of product architecture in the reverse direction - from modular to integral form - and the subsequent change in the firm sourcing decision from a buy to a make strategy. These studies hold to the presumption that a firm following a make strategy will outperform firms following a buy strategy in dealing with integral product architectures. Based on the knowledge-based view, we argue for the viability of a sourcing strategy between the pure make and buy strategies - a pseudo-make strategy. We also argue that as product architecture changes from a modular to integral form, firms adopting this pseudo-make strategy are likely to show better product performance than firms following a pure make or buy strategy due to the relative knowledge advantages of the pseudo-make strategy in dealing with the integral product architecture. We examine the impact of the make/pseudo-make/buy strategies on product performance in the U.S. bicycle derailleur and freewheel market from 1980 to 1992 and provide theoretical and managerial implications of our results. Our findings highlight an important distinction between the pseudo-make and make-buy strategies that has not previously been fully appreciated in the extant literature, and as a result increases our understanding of why some firms do not switch strategies from a buy to a make strategy when product architecture changes from modular to integral form as previously expected.     

虚拟企业:网络经济下企业创新的新平台

文章论述了在网络经济下的虚拟企业能够突出核心竞争力,能有效加强组织协调,能克服创新本身所具有的不确定性、路径依赖性、不可逆性以及系统集成性特征所引起的创新障碍,为企业创新的成功提供了一个崭新的平台。     

Dimensions of small business performance from the owner-manager's perspective: a re-conceptualization and empirical validation

Owner-managers make decisions and manage their firm as governed by the manner in which they conceptualize or ‘conceive’ performance for themselves and their firm, rather than being governed by researchers' and experts' conceptualizations of small business performance. On the basis of survey data obtained from 433 Canadian small businesses, this study aims at a deeper understanding of what owner-managers conceive performance to be, and to what extent this conception is determined by their objectives and social influences.     

Information systems and technology sourcing strategies of e-Retailers for value chain enablement

In the e-Retail industry, a well-designed IT infrastructure is essential in creating a tightly integrated value chain and delivering high quality service. With intense competition for market share and profits, information systems and technology (IST) sourcing decisions are becoming increasingly important to e-Retail firms to support continued growth and market responsiveness. Drawing on the contingency theory, we examine organizational and environmental factors that influence an e-Retailer's IST sourcing strategy of make versus buy in enabling its value chain activities, and we also look at firm-level performance impacts of IST sourcing decisions that involve bundling across value chain activities. We test the proposed model and hypotheses using a panel data set of 307 firms over the period of 2006–2010. The results show that firms that make transformative IT investments tend to source a smaller portion of IST for their e-Retail value chain activities than firms that pursue automate or informate as their strategic role for IT investment. Capabilities are positively associated with IST sourcing. Firms experienced in e-Retail are more likely to build rather than buy their IST. In addition, we find mimicking behavior for IST sourcing among firms in the same merchandizer category. We find that IT strategic role is strongly associated with growth metric, whereas sourcing decisions predominantly impact operational performance measures. There is partial evidence that alignment between IT strategic role and IST sourcing decisions results in better performance effects. Moreover, complementary IST sourcing of synergistic marketing and sales activities positively impacts Web sales and conversion rate, but the sourcing combination of logistics, operations, and sales activities is associated with lower Web sales and conversion rate.     

Assessing supply chain risks with the analytic hierarchy process: Providing decision support for the offshoring decision by a US manufacturing company

This paper reports the process used by a US manufacturing company to assess supply chain risks within the context of an offshore sourcing decision. The case study company was faced with the objective of finding a new supplier for two of its major product lines. Five alternatives were considered: (1) sourcing finished goods from Mexico; (2) sourcing finished goods from China; (3) sourcing parts from China and assembly in the US; (4) sourcing parts from China, assembly in a Maquiladora in Mexico with investment; and (5) sourcing parts from China, assembly in a Maquiladora in Mexico with no investment in the venture. To find the best solution, action research methodology was combined with the application of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Through iterative and structured discussions, 17 risk factors were identified, which were subsequently grouped into main and sub objectives. AHP was then used to evaluate the importance of each risk factor, and to determine the best alternative. This study makes several contributions to the field of purchasing and supply management. First, it provides a comprehensive framework of empirically derived risk factors to be considered in an international sourcing context. Second, it shows how AHP can be used to assess these risk factors and alternatives as part of the framework to facilitate and support the final offshoring decision. And third, it illustrates the successful application of the approach by a US manufacturing company. As such, this paper contributes to the research streams of offshoring and risk management in purchasing and supply, as well as to decision-making under uncertainty and AHP. In addition, it serves as a practical methodology for firms in similar situations.     

Creating new business through strategic community management: case study of a multimedia business

For the last few years, the videoconferencing system and multi-point connection service market represented by multimedia technology have enjoyed strong growth in Japan. Behind the recent upturn in this market was the strategic alliance of NTT, Japan's largest telecommunications carrier, and PictureTel of the US, followed by the birth of business communities centred around or outside NTT, thus intensively creating and boosting a new market referred to as interactive video communication. This article reviews the challenges that faced NTT, one of the big businesses in Japan, followed by PictureTel and other players within and outside NTT, all of which were lined up to create various strategic business communities. The article gives careful consideration to the measures taken by these players who achieved success in such a way as to alter employee consciousness, vitalize organizational morale, entrench the new NTT 'Phoenix' brand (videoconferencing system) in the Japanese market and create an emergent new video multi-point connection network service market. And it was under the innovative leadership of community leaders that communities' core competencies were elevated, and innovation of the multimedia business achieved, as a function of the creation and harmonization of new value outlooks within the business community, inside as well as outside the companies.     

广西柳工物流外包决策与改善分析

物流被认为是"第三利润源",而物流外包作为供应链管理环境下企业物流资源配置的一种新形式,已成为商业领域的一个趋势。企业进行物流外包时须考虑主观与客观诸多因素,以形成合理的决策方案。根据物流管理的基本理论,采用层次分析法建立决策模型,为企业物流外包决策提供依据,并借鉴成组技术改善企业物流的运营模式,从而增强企业在市场上的竞争能力。     

Corporate environmental performance evaluation: a measurement model and a new concept

While many third‐party organizations are practically evaluating corporate environmental performance (CEP), few academic studies have paid attention to third‐party environmental performance evaluation (EPE). To answer the question of what should be measured for third‐party EPE, we develop an environmental performance measurement (EPM) model consisting of environmental management performance (EMP) and environmental operational performance (EOP), and hypothesize that EMP be measured by four management performance indicators (MPIs: organizational system, stakeholder relations, operational countermeasures and environmental tracking) and EOP be measured by two operational performance indicators (OPIs: inputs and outputs). Further, to answer the question of how to enable third‐party EPE comparable across companies from different (sub‐)sectors, we propose to use the environmental intensity change index (EICI) as a measure of OPIs. Empirical tests confirm that the EICI and the evaluation based on it are comparable across companies from different sub‐sectors. Empirical tests also support the existence of the MPIs and OPIs and the two‐dimensioned constructs of CEP. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Antecedents and relative performance of sourcing choices for new product development projects

Given the complexity of sourcing choices in R&D, driven by conflicting points of difference, scholars have struggled to formulate clear theoretical predictions about which sourcing choices lead to superior performance. Our study contributes to the elucidation of this question by studying both the antecedents and performance consequences (project cost and duration) of alternative sourcing choices in the context of new product development, thus bridging two rarely intersecting streams of research to discover unique insights. We draw from the transaction cost economics (TCE) and organizational learning theory to account for the interdependence of cost- and non-cost related factors in firms’ sourcing choices. Results from our empirical analysis, using data on clinical trials in the global biopharmaceutical industry, show that greater project complexity, project stage uncertainty, and prior sourcing experience determine the sourcing choices a firm makes. We also establish that alternative sourcing choices vary in their ability to minimize project cost versus project duration, and show that prior experience with a sourcing choice is an important moderator of project performance, in addition to being one of the determinants of sourcing choice.     

Critical success factors for mutual collaboration with suppliers in IT outsourcing industry: a case study of a top IT outsourcing company in Korea

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, information technology (IT) outsourcing companies face enduring demands to reduce cost while increasing productivity. This pressure leads many IT outsourcing companies to rely on outsourcing arrangements with IT personnel suppliers. In order to maximise efficiency, outsourcing companies have focused on fostering high-performing suppliers through improved collaboration and mutual relations. However, it is very difficult to advance to a long-term partnership using the existing outsourcing process because of insufficient collaboration between IT outsourcing companies and their suppliers. Based on collaboration perspective of supply chain management (SCM), this study identifies the critical success factors for collaborative strategic partnerships and presents an evaluation framework for assessing and managing suppliers. We have developed an organisational process model for Supplier relationship management (SRM)-based collaboration which includes some of the key constructs from the previous studies and interviews with the IT outsourcing industry people. In this study, we will identify four types of strategic suppliers and suggest approaches for improving collaborative relationship between an IT outsourcing company and its partner companies. In addition, to validate the feasibility of the proposed model, we applied it to a well-known Korean IT outsourcing company ‘A’.     

Structural change and blurred sectoral boundaries: assessing the extent to which knowledge-intensive business services satisfy manufacturing final demand in Western countries

This paper focuses on the vertical integration of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) into manufacturing sectors, using a subsystem approach to input–output analysis. It aims at correctly assessing the process of structural change that has occurred in the four main European countries (France, Germany, Italy and the UK) over time (1995–2005). It does not focus on KIBS sectors per se, but on their function as carriers and sources of knowledge which influences the performance of sectors, value chains and clusters across industries and within countries. The analysis shows that KIBS’ contribution to satisfying the final demand of manufacturing is in general largely underestimated; that KIBS vertical integration into manufacturing has increased over time in all the countries investigated except the UK; and that the extent to which manufacturing sectors outsource to KIBS is significantly affected by their technological intensity.     

Transitive properties: a spatial econometric analysis of new business creation around transit

This paper evaluates the relationship between transit station proximity and new business creation in five US regions with varying levels of maturity in rail transit development and/or entrepreneurial ecosystems: Boston, San Jose, Austin, Cleveland and Philadelphia. It tests a variety of spatial econometric models to find the best specification and compares the results with the kinds of non-spatial models currently used in the literature. This provides a better understanding of the role of various forms of spatial dependence in the transit – new business creation relationship and shows that existing models may overstate the impact of transit on new business creation. In addition, the paper teases out differences between regions, rail modes and business types that can be usefully applied to a variety of urban contexts.     

Analysis of interactions among core,transaction and relationship-specific investments: The case of offshoring

Through the use of core, transactional and relational specificity constructs, the paper studies how the emphasis of clients’ who move business processes offshore, changes over time to represent complex relationships between investments in core, transaction and relationship-specific assets. The complex combination of these investments helps clients attain evolving objectives in offshoring alliances. Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) has been used to establish changing emphases of the specific elements in offshoring alliances.     

陈智思:香港商政新星 毅行经世 德美传家

金融是经济的皇冠,所以金融家的气质里总会自然地流露出钻石般的华贵与超然.除此之外,在陈有庆、陈智思父子的气质和态度中,人们还领略到一种格外的坦荡、清新和优美,那是出身与教养、艺术与智慧、气魄与柔情的自然融合.少壮派的陈智思又多出了运动家的锐气、开朗与洒脱于一身.