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Global outsourcing of back office services: Lessons, trends, and enduring challenges
Abstract
Purpose
– To identify key lessons, trends and enduring challenges with global outsourcing of back office services.
Design/methodology/approach
– The authors extract lessons, project trends, and discuss enduring challenges from a 20 year research program conducted by these authors and their extended network of co‐authors and colleagues.
Findings
– The authors identify seven important lessons for successfully exploiting the maturing Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) markets. The lessons require back office executives to build significant internal capabilities and processes to manage global outsourcing. The authors predict 13 trends about the size and growth of ITO and BPO markets, about suppliers located around the world, and about particular sourcing models including application service provision, insourcing, nearshoring, rural sourcing, knowledge process outsourcing, freelance outsourcing, and captive centers. The authors identify five persistent, prickly issues on global outsourcing pertaining to back office alignment, client and supplier incentives, knowledge transfer, knowledge retention, and sustainability of outsourcing relationships.
Originality/value
– The authors present some experimental innovations to address these issues.
... IT outsourcing originated in the 1960s with activities that included the supply of hardware, since computers were large, expensive and required controlled environments. Lacity et al. (2008) had already predicted that IT outsourcing would continue to grow in companies and recent studies show that this resource continues to be observed as a practice in organizations and the number of agreements corresponds to more than half of the outsourcing contracts in the world (Gorla & Bik, 2010). ...
... The benefits of a successful IT outsourcing strategy may include reducing the costs of the contracted activities, the possibility of the contracting company focusing on its strategic activities, increased flexibility in procuring resources, skills and innovations (Lacity et al., 2008). In addition, they enable the company to find ways to access external resources, specialized knowledge, industry best practices and learning opportunities (Lee et al., 2019). ...
... Procurement management is included as a complementary aspect in project quality (Zwikael, 2009), stakeholder satisfaction and project success (Chou & Yang, 2012). The contracting organization's procurement management processes can be related to the contracted suppliers' capacity management: for example, conducting deals that coordinate the selection and procurement of suppliers to provide the skills adequate to future demands (Lacity et al., 2008;Perez & Zwicker, 2005;Gorla & Bik, 2010) and to increase task productivity during the project life cycle (Allen, Herring et al., 2015). Based on these propositions, the following hypothesis is conceived: ...
This research aimed to analyze the efficiency of management practices that govern IT projects, represented by the decision to adopt project management methodologies and by the internal controls over suppliers and users, reflected in the perceived effectiveness of outsourced information systems. We have employed a quantitative methodology, using structural equation modeling with partial least squares and the sample consisted of 299 information technology professionals. The results show the positive effect of management practices that monitor supplier capacity on the effectiveness of information systems, as well as the processes associated with the control of project deviations.
... Fyrirtaeki geta einnig verið að leitast við að laekka óbeinan kostnað, t.d. með því að faekka starfsfólki og einfalda reksturinn og koma á betra kostnaðareftirliti (Kremic, Icmeli Tukel, & Rom, 2006;Lacity, Willcocks, & Rottman, 2008;Quinn, 1999). Til að það sé mögulegt þarf þó viðkomandi þjónusta eða vara frá utanaðkomandi aðila að vera ódýrari en innan fyrirtaekis. ...
... Önnur ástaeða fyrir útvistun er stefnumiðuð, þ.e. viðleitni til að auka samkeppnishaefni með því að einbeita sér að kjarnafaerni sinni (lykilþekkingu og sértaekum björgum) sem önnur fyrirtaeki eigi erfitt með að herma eða líkja eftir (e. imitate) (Lacity et al., 2008;Quinn, 1999). Daemi um slíka þaetti er að standa vörð um lykilþekkingu sem eflir þjónustu við viðskiptavini og nýsköpunargetu og endurskipuleggja eða breyta rekstrinum til að auka sveigjanleika með það að markmiði að auka samkeppnisgetu (Quinn, 1999). ...
... Einnig hefur umraeðan verið tengd markmiðum um aukinn sveigjanleika. Eða með öðrum orðum að markmiðið með útvistun sé að draga úr áhaettu og gera fyrirtaeki betur í stakk búin til þess að takast á við sveiflur á markaði (Kremic et al., 2006;Lacity et al., 2008;Quinn, 1999). Þá má geta þess að þó að ákvörðun um útvistun í minni fyrirtaekjum geti oft verið byggð á hentistefnu hverju sinni (Ingi Rúnar Eðvarðsson & Guðmundur Kristján Óskarsson, 2015) má aetla að ákvörðunin geti jafnvel líka ráðist af staðbundnu framboði og gaeðum sérhaefðrar þjónustu í hverju landi, stað eða jafnvel í hverri atvinnugrein fyrir sig. ...
Markmið greinarinnar er að bera saman umfang útvistunar á sviði mannauðsmála meðal fyrirtækja og stofnana í Danmörku, Finnlandi, Íslandi og Svíþjóð. Varpað er ljósi á umfang útvistunar á kjarnaverkefnum og umsýslu- og rekstrarverkefnum. Umfangið er borið saman milli landanna fjögurra og það greint á Norðurlöndum í heild eftir þremur meginatvinnugreinum. Gagna var aflað meðal forsvarsmanna mannauðsmála í alls 797 fyrirtækjum og stofnunum í löndunum fjórum. Niðurstöður sýna að norræn fyrirtæki og stofnanir útvista í meiri mæli rekstrar- og umsýsluverkefnum á sviði mannauðsmála en faglegum kjarnaverkefnum. Íslensk fyrirtæki útvista almennt í minni mæli en skipulagsheildir í samanburðarlöndunum. Algengast er að verkefnum er snúa að eftirlauna- og lífeyrissjóðsmálum sé útvistað, en breytilegt er á milli landa hvort útvistun launavinnslu eða útvistun upplýsingakerfa á sviði mannauðsmála komi þar á eftir í umfangi. Í fagtengdum kjarnaverkefnum er þjálfun og þróun helst útvistað í einhverjum mæli. Fyrirtæki og stofnanir í heilbrigðis-, velferðar- og skólamálum og opinberri stjórnsýslu útvista í minni mæli en aðrar greinar. Útvistun launavinnslu er umfangsmest í Finnlandi og í þjónustugreinum þegar Norðurlöndin eru skoðuð í heild.
... Backshoring can be defined as the geographic relocation of a value-creating operation from a location abroad back to the country of origin of the focal firm or back within its organizational boundaries , Holz, 2009, Kinkel and Maloca, 2009, Lacity et al., 2008, Stentoft et al., 2016b. ...
... The strategy itself has been referred to by many different terms, such as offshoring, offshore outsourcing, captive offshoring, international outsourcing, delocalization, global outsourcing and global sourcing. All those terms imply a relocation of some business activities, such as manufacturing, information technology, finance, human resources, and back office, to a subsidiary or to independent providers across national borders (Contractor et al., 2010, Ellram, 2013, Lacity et al., 2008, Oshri et al., 2015. It builds on the fundamental idea that it is possible to disperse different parts of manufacturing and service operations independently of the location context (Gereffi et al., 2001) and moreover that separation is advantageous and not harmful for the firm. ...
... and it became a major issue in US presidential and congressional elections (Lacity and Rottman, 2008). In 2008, the former US President Barack Obama joined this discourse and in 2011, his administration initiated a program of financial support for firms that re-evaluated their global outsourcing decisions and initiated reversed strategies. ...
The advent of globalization and the increased level of competition have led to substantial difficulties for many businesses regarding knowledge and skills required to compete effectively. Research shows that one of the most challenging process that come with a globalized outsourcing strategy involves the increased disaggregation of activities and the knowledge following those processes. The present global business scenario in Western countries is currently on the way into a new shift, where business activities are being backshored to the country of origin. However, compared to global outsourcing, the impacts of backshoring are far less researched. Both within previous and ongoing studies of backshoring, there is a tendency to first and foremost focus on dissatisfaction(s) that concern the lack of cost efficiency at the foreign location, rather than with the challenges that might come with this global-local shift. Existing literature that focuses specifically on knowledge and resource availability when changing sourcing strategies are scarce and deserve attention, especially when the mechanisms of backshoring seem to require it. This thesis contributes with meaningful insights regarding these issues by studying the consequences of backshoring from a knowledge perspective.
The selected PhD committee composed of Professor Steffen Kinkel (Karlsruhe University of Applied Science, Faculty of Computer Science and Business Information Systems, Germany), Associate professor, PhD Anna Fredriksson (Linköping University, Department of Science and Technology, Sweden) and Professor Arnt Buvik (Molde University College, Specialized university in Logistics, Faculty of Logistics, Norway) have evaluated and approved this dissertation.
... This type of reversed strategy implies a short-time correction for prior cost and location miscalculations, rather than a long-term solution for local development trends. Others claim that this new phenomenon can be motivated by change in the environment, or as a redefinition of factors and characteristics of the sourced out activities, trigged by a change in the top management (Lacity, Willcocks, & Rottman, 2008;Oshri, Kotlarsky, & Willcocks, 2015). However, irrespective of the motivations, there is a conspicuous absence of studies about these reversed relocation strategies of industrial manufacturing from low-cost to high-cost locations (Arlbjørn & Mikkelsen, 2014). ...
... When developing a viable (global) sourcing strategy, businesses need to consider the costs of various resources such as the availability of infrastructures, supporting industries, knowledge and skilled workers, language and/or cultural differences, geographic and mental distances, exchange rates, and taxations, etc. (e.g., Doh, 2005;Larsen, Manning, & Pedersen, 2013;Porter, 1990;Stephan & Silvia, 2008). Cost considerations which often seem to be ignored or overlooked, and thereby "hidden" when decisions to embark on a global strategy are taking place (Lacity et al., 2008;Larsen et al., 2013). For some businesses the expected economic benefits therefore fails to realize. ...
... Further limitations stressed, when explaining business innovation and competence building, as well as cost-estimation errors, is the shortage of face-toface interaction and socialization, since this can disrupt incremental in-house learning processes (Reitzig & Wagner, 2010). Especially when the distance between the home location and the host location increases (Asheim & Gertler, 2005;Baier et al., 2013;Halse & Bjarnar, 2014;Kinkel, 2012;Lacity et al., 2008;Larsen et al., 2013). The argument is that close collaboration between different departments and units, assisted by frequent face-to-face interaction and shared belief encourages knowledge sharing, interactive learning and innovation. ...
Global businesses base their sourcing operations and manufacturing decisions primarily on financial principles and metrics. What is often disregarded is the strategic value of domestic locations and contextual tacit knowledge. However, recent empirical work on knowledge flows shows that proximity is crucial. The risk of losing knowledge and important competencies developed through generations within companies and value chains needs to be considered when developing a global sourcing strategy. This chapter sheds light on how global shift-backs, through backshoring are seen to affect organizations that are located in a high-cost country. Based on interviews with managers and key personnel within a specific industry, we explore how companies preserve innovative capabilities when considering closing down (captive) offshore centers or when embarking on a backshoring strategy. The implications derived from the case offers valuable insights into how organizational capabilities could be restored when companies bring manufacturing back.
... Historically SSCs serve non-strategic, back-office functions, outside the core competency of the organization (Bergeron, 2003). Examples include human resources, systems implementation, indirect procurement, finance, and accounting where organizations seek to turn these services into internal businesses supporting internal users as customers (Lacity, Willcocks, & Rottman, 2008). Current research focuses mostly on practices to commoditize these back-office services to achieve cost control, consolidation of ICT resources, and standardized customer service (Miskon, Bandara, Field, & Gable, 2009;Schulz & Brenner, 2010). ...
... Well-formulated service contracts, implemented as KPIs or SLAs, exist between the SSC and the corporate entity (Howcroft & Richardson, 2012;Lacity, Willcocks, & Rottman, 2008;Walsh et al., 2008). ...
Shared service providers typically host routine and administrative business processes as a way to standardize company practices and increase efficiency. In the public sector, however, its application to functions critical to an organization"s central mission is moving shared services out of the "back-office." This research employs and extends Bergeron"s (2003) framework to case analysis of two public safety networks within the United States, and prompts the addition of two new characteristics for public sector shared services, Public Policy and Type of Service. In this sector, we find that legislative controls, i.e. policy, manage information and communications technology (ICT) investment to meet efficiency and especially effectiveness goals, while mission criticality serves to trump cost considerations. Recommendations resulting from this research should lead to improvements in the cost and performance of public-sector shared services and their role in ICT-supported, mission-critical, shared services.
... In such a competitive globalized market, managers and CEOs are always looking for improvement and the best practices to direct them to success. The allocation of non-core business operations to a third-party organization is referred as outsourcing (Lacity & Rottman, 2009;Lacity, Willcocks, & Rottman, 2008;Lysons & Farrington, 2012;Quinn, 2000). Whilst the increasing use of outsourcing has allowed organizations to accomplish better outcomes, it has also made projects more complex, which then requires experienced and professional outsourcers. ...
Aim/Purpose During an evolutionary time for Iran the purpose of this research study was to establish the outsourcing best practices in the area of supply chain by investigating in the construction firms in Iran, which is identified as the most successful industry in out-sourcing. Background Clarifying outsourcing decisions have been a difficult and challenging task because the outsourcing itself is complex. Meanwhile, the construction industry is recognized as one of the most complex and vibrant industries, although no concentration was set to outsourcing practices and its approach in construction firms in Iran. This paper aims to address this gap. Methodology Based on a combination of academic literature, screening interviews, and survey, data was collected from Iranian construction firms involved in outsourcing. Participants were senior managers and CEOs from twenty one large construction firms in Teh-ran. The analysis methods in this study were centered on comparative analysis, factor analysis, Pearson correlation, and relative important indices. Contribution The paper offers insight into outsourcing decisions, focusing on Iranian construction firms. Findings The findings identified that construction firms regularly choose to outsource their operation functions/processes to find operational expertise, a wider pool of knowledge and experience, and cost restructuring. The study revealed that selective outsourcing was the popular practiced outsourcing type in construction firms. On the other hand, the study has acknowledged that construction firms mainly practiced Outsourcing Best Practice in Iran 40 strategic outsourcing as a level of outsourcing. The study established that conducting a need analysis prior to making the outsourcing decision is the outsourcing success element for Iranian construction firms. Lastly, the result shows that nearly two thirds of the large construction firms were identified as successful at outsourcing process. Recommendations for Practitioners and Researchers The outcomes of this research offer practical value for construction managers and researchers to choose the best outsourcing practices method. Impact on Society As the sanctions are removed, it is predicted the economic settings in Iran will become more firm and the findings of the study will assist the successful implementation of outsourcing in economic growth of Iran. Future Research To further development of this study, an in-depth investigation into risks involved in outsourcing, reasons to insource, economical and environmental effects on outsourc-ing process, cultural and social effects, as well as the result of sanctions on the process of outsourcing can provide more insight to the outsourcing practitioners.
... Alternative cost arising out of change of assigned tasks from one service provider to other Chou and Chou, 2009 ;Gunasekaran et. al., 2015 ;Lacity et al., 2008 ;Choi et al., 2018 ;Guandalini et al., 2019 ;Lesmono et al., 2020 ;Pang et al., 2021 2. ...
Globalization has entered a new phase due to significant advancements in technology. This progress has allowed organizations to reduce costs while enhancing their market responsiveness, thus gaining a competitive edge. Nowadays, organizations prioritize knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) as a crucial element in their strategies, particularly in the service sector. However, research indicates that several challenges are negatively impacting the performance of the supply chain network when it comes to KPO. One major challenge is the financial risk associated with this environment. Various factors, such as switching costs, adaptation costs, and layoff costs, influence this financial risk. The aim of this research is to comprehend and identify the interconnectedness of these financial risk factors, which can affect the operational performance of KPO. The authors have meticulously reviewed relevant literature to identify these financial risk factors. Based on this subject matter, an integrated model has been constructed using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) to address the finance-related challenges impacting KPO. Additionally, the Cross-Impact Matrix analysis evaluates the dependency and driving power of financial challenges. This analysis assists decision-makers in classifying and identifying important factors, as well as understanding the direct and indirect effects of each factor on operations related to KPO. The results indicate that switching costs, disputes & litigation, and measurement problems have strong driving power and weak dependency, making them independent factors. By mitigating these independent factors, the overall performance of the model can be improved.
... In a networked global economy, outsourcing is regarded as an important strategic tool that allows firms to concentrate their core competencies on building flexible inter-organizational capabilities (Kakabadse & Kakabadse, 2005;Lacity et al., 2008). However, the outsourcing concept has not received remarkable attention and support, which can be considered to be favorable for improving organizational growth and performance in Ghana. ...
The study examined the effect of outsourcing on the operational performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Using questionnaires, a descriptive research design was employed with a sample size of 68 SMEs in Sunyani Municipality. The data analysis was based on a mean score and standard deviation using SPSS. The nature of outsourcing recorded in the study was the SMEs outsourcing some of their activities (mean score = 4.47, SD = 0.47), the practice affecting all areas of their operations (mean score = 4.24, SD = 0.47), and specifically internal operations (mean score = 4.17, SD = 0.55). The reasons SMEs in Sunyani practice outsourcing are to free up the company's resources to focus on its core competencies (mean score = 4.41, SD = 0.37), improve its competitive position (mean score = 4.26, SD = 0.41), avoid labour issues (mean score = 4.11, SD = 0.43), reduce cost (mean score = 3.82, SD = 0.52), reduce the risk associated with in-house production (mean score = 3.80, SD = 0.54), and increase efficiency (mean score = 3.75, SD = 0.60). The effects of outsourcing on operations and service delivery are reduced through superior provider performance, and the provider's lower cost structure (mean score = 4.21, SD = 0.43) and existing skills are commercially exploited (mean score = 4.18, SD = 0.47). Therefore, SMEs in Sunyani are encouraged to continue with their outsourcing practices. However, further study is recommended on the factors and challenges affecting outsourcing among Ghanaian companies.
... The term backsourcing differs from the term "reshoring" or "backshoring" as the goal of backsourcing is to rebuild competences and capabilities internally in the organization, whereas reshoring/backshoring involves moving activities back to the organization's country of origin, but does not necessarily imply that the organization take the activity back in-house (Ancarani et al., 2015, Lacity et al., 2008, Nujen et al., 2015. Reshoring denotes the relocation of the activity to geographically closer locations, either domestic or nearshore countries. ...
The purpose of this study is to examine the backsourcing process. Based on previous research and lessons learned from a case study of a supplier of maritime equipment in a Scandinavian cluster, important drivers, activities and challenges related to the backsourcing process are identified. The key contribution of this research is the development of a stepwise model of how companies can backsource. It is a framework describing how companies can conduct the backsourcing process, which consists of four phases comprised of different objectives and activities. Moreover, three main challenges are identified, namely limitations in capacity, re- building knowledge, and adapting the backsourced product to the production site. In addition to filling a gap in the existing literature, the framework can also be used as an analytic tool to help managers deal with the decisions and challenges related to the backsourcing process.
... At the same time, they are confronted with highly bureaucratic rules, where information paths are long and the pressure to deliver information as fast as possible is tremendous (Sturdy 1992). It is therefore not seldom that back-office workers feel overwhelmed by the number of requests they need to array within a short period of time and often find themselves pushing or pulling for information (Lacity et al. 2008). ...
Workplace coaching has been established as a popular managerial development tool to support employees on all hierarchical levels. In service industries, coaching is underrepresented. This is rather surprising because more than in any other industry, the employees’ attitudes and personal job satisfaction have an impact on customers’ service perceptions. Thus, taking care of the service personnel should be a top concern for service firms. This position paper therefore presents the challenges service employees are confronted with, according to their distance to the customer, and describes how coaching may help them to overcome those challenges from a conceptual point of view. Service employees may be influenced by workplace coaching, affecting not only their work performance (i.e. skill-based outcomes), but also their attitude and personality (i.e. psychological outcomes). Theoretically, this study adds on previous research, by presenting a conceptual discussion of positive outcomes of coaching for service organizations, which is supplemented by considerations about negative or unwanted effects. Service practitioners learn that coaching can be widely applied to different employee groups and gain a differentiated perspective about conceivable positive and negative outcomes.
... We find that freelancing is in first place with 17%. This means that more and more entrepreneurs are and will continue to turn to outsourcing, as they reduce their staff costs, collaborate only on the project side and have a wide range of options in choosing the most qualified employee for the project on which interests him (Lacity and Rottman, 2008). The most open sector to the outsourcing market is IT, but it is necessary for other areas to turn their attention to this area. ...
Purpose: Given the context of the Coronavirus pandemic, the purpose of this research is to find out what the future of entrepreneurship will look like. We want to find out which direction the entrepreneurs will go. Design / methodology / approach: We conducted an opinion poll on the trends that will follow in entrepreneurship. The questionnaire had only one question: What do you think will be the future trends in entrepreneurship after the Coronavirus pandemic? Findings: Following the study we found that the first 3 places are freelancing, online entrepreneurship and business globalization that will follow the trend in entrepreneurship. Practical implications: This research comes in support of entrepreneurs regarding new trends to have a successful business.
... One of the first mega deals in the world of IT outsourcing was the $3.2 billion contract between Xerox and EDS in 1994. The initiation of the IT offshore outsourcing took place during 1994-1995(Erber and Ahmed, 2005Gupta et al., 2010;Lacity et al., 2008). ...
The employee attrition is a painful area for the management of information technology enabled services (ITeS) call centres. In spite of providing attractive salaries, social security benefits, pick-up and drop facilities and swanky office spaces, the ITeS call centre employees are leaving the organisation. The management is bemused that why do employees actually leave? The current research explores the factors behind the high attrition in Indian ITeS call centres. Apart from extensive literature review, available till date, techniques like focus group discussion and semi-structured interviews with employees of Indian ITeS call centres, who have shifted their ITeS call centre job at least once in their career, have been conducted. It calls for reviewing the human resource policies of the call centre employees in light of employee policies implemented in other industries apart from providing better facilitation on pertinent issues like career planning, appraisal system, salary and timings to the ITeS call centre employees.
... The previous research has shown that the relationship between the parties (service buyer and service provider), as well as contract management, are important factors for ITO success [26]. Earlier research has also shown that the market trends are very much dependent upon the conditions of the service provider and buyer [46] as well as the local and global governance. In this context, there is a need to understand IT outsourcing relationships like the factors for successful IT outsourcing relationships. ...
Relationship management in IT Outsourcing (ITO) is widely accepted as a prerequisite for a successful ITO. However, there is still a need for understanding the important factors that contribute to a successful ITO relationship in large companies in Sweden. Therefore, this study wants to address this knowledge gap. The studied companies are the largest ones regarding turnover in Sweden and are present in the “Large Cap” segment at Nasdaq Stockholm Exchange. The results of this research are compared with a previous study done in 2012 in large companies in Sweden. The findings show that the most important factors (from a buyer’s perspective) for a successful ITO relationship are communication; conflict and conflict resolution; trust; commitment; cooperation; and internal competence. The identified relational factors in this study contribute to ITO research and can help ITO decision-makers in large companies to have successful ITO relationships and improve their ITO.
... Experiences in confronting beyond anticipation issues have provided an expectation to be able to lead much easier project. Any organization that explores a new sourcing option in terms of new suppliers, new services, or new engagement models with existing suppliers, must plan on false starts and many mistakes (Lacity et al., 2008). While finally a successful outcome was obtained in the preceding experiences, learning exercise provides an expectation to a better position to evaluate how better results with less effort can be obtained. ...
In line with the increasing significance of the acceleration of information technology (IT) advancement and also of harnessing the vigor of emerging economies, IT outsourcing to emerging economies has become global concerns. This enables global companies to enjoy a critical competitive edge by choosing the best option in outsourcing strategy and supplier selection. Consequently, supplier selection criteria have become critical issues for both suppliers and customers. This paper attempts to provide insightful suggestions to these issues. An empirical analysis was conducted taking supplier selection criteria evolvement in global IT outsourcing project focusing on action research in a multinational company. Noteworthy findings include impacts of manager’s change, identification of creative moment and weighting of supplier selection criteria.
... The term backsourcing differs from the term "reshoring" or "backshoring" as the goal of backsourcing is to rebuild competences and capabilities internally in the organization, whereas reshoring/backshoring involves moving activities back to the organization's country of origin, but does not necessarily imply that the organization take the activity back in-house (Ancarani et al., 2015, Lacity et al., 2008, Nujen et al., 2015. Reshoring denotes the relocation of the activity to geographically closer locations, either domestic or nearshore countries. ...
The purpose of this study is to examine the backsourcing process. Based on previous research and lessons learned from a case study of a supplier of maritime equipment in a Scandinavian cluster, important drivers, activities and challenges related to the backsourcing process are identified. The key contribution of this research is the development of a stepwise model of how companies can backsource. It is a framework describing how companies can conduct the backsourcing process, which consists of four phases comprising different objectives and activities. Moreover, three main challenges are identified, namely limitations in capacity, re-building knowledge, and adapting the backsourced product to the production site. In addition to filling a gap in the existing literature, the framework can also be used as an analytic tool to help managers deal with the decisions and challenges related to the backsourcing process.
... Since the early 1990s, outsourcing has been discussed under diverse aspects in both academic research and business practice (Lacity et al., 2008;Holcomb, Hitt, 2007;Espino-Rodríguez, Padrón-Robaina, 2006;Seuring, 2003;Kakabadse, Kakabadse, 2000;Lonsdale, Cox, 2000). Outsourcing has become more global and extensive in its scope, involving more business functions and complex contractual arrangements (Mohr et al., 2011). ...
... Cloud computing has great potential in China's insurance industry, especially in the midst of a recession, cloud can provide a more economical way to access IT and application IT for business process outsourcing (BPO) [4] companies serving the insurance industry. ...
With the development and maturity of cloud computing technology, many cloud-based solutions for specific industry applications are also rapidly emerging. This study designed and implemented a Service Outsourcing Cloud for the Insurance Industry (SOC-II) for China's huge market demand, especially for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies serving the insurance industry. Firstly, this research presents the cloud computing ecosystem, conducts SOC-II needs analysis, and then proposes the system architecture and logical architecture of SOC-II. Secondly, this paper introduces an image processing case in a SOC-II production operation system, and gives the operating mode and management mode of SOC-II. Thirdly, we summarize the main features of SOC-II and the new changes that SOC-II brings to the insurance industry. Finally, the article discusses the challenges of cloud computing.
... IT outsourcing has gained its popularity and trending to reach 67% of the whole global outsourcing contract deals [2]. It was predicted by [3] that, both of the IT and business process outsourcing markets will progress to rise in global markets (for example, China's market is contrived to grow at 38% per year). Therefore, it may affect the direction of ICT utilization in Malaysia that put Malaysia in the 3rd position, behind China and India, as an attractive investment destination for outsourcing For instance, the recent development of ICT projects in the Public Sector agencies to transform and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services to public, as reported by [4], has reached approximately 77% of Public Sector services are already offered online. ...
Obviously the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) by organizations is increasing over the years, whether in government or the private sector. The use of ICT can be seen to increase efficiency and effectiveness of the services or products offered. To meet the demand of stakeholders today, ICT projects need to be developed through outsourcing. However the method of outsourcing has some issues that can affect the success of the development of ICT projects as has been much debated by previous studies. Yet, the discussion on project management success (PMS) factors that concentrate on the competency measurement for the department's officers who are managing the procurement process has not been sufficiently clarified. The aim of this Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is to identify the common attributes that influence project management success through the procurement procedure carried out by the procurement officer (PO). The outcome of the review explained the important relationship pattern between the identified attributes which will be applied in the future empirical and exploratory survey that will be carried out. Addition to this, the competency measurement model of ICT procurement officer to be developed.
... The strategy has been referred to by many different terms, such as offshoring, offshore outsourcing, international outsourcing, delocalization and global sourcing. All of which imply a relocation of some business activities, such as manufacturing and back office operations to a subsidiary or to independent providers across national borders, where cost considerations have been highly emphasized (Contractor et al., 2010;Ellram, 2013;Lacity et al., 2008;Oshri et al., 2015). In this study, we do not make any distinction between the terms associated with this phenomenon. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to delineate key aspects of backshoring readiness and discuss how such aspects contribute to a smooth shift-back from global sourcing operations. It aims to answer the following questions: which factors constitute backshoring readiness and how these factors affect the backshoring transition.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on theory departure from the organizational readiness field and the emerging field on backshoring, a conceptual model is developed. A multiple qualitative case study is then conducted to exemplify the backshoring readiness factors delineated in the study.
Findings
The study indicates that due to previous outsourcing, limitations concerning the availability of firms’ capabilities are affected by ownership structures and that backshoring appears to be time-sensitive. The study delineates three key aspects of backshoring readiness and proposes a comprehensive understanding of readiness as an important construct to enhance successful backshoring.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are limited by the nature of this conceptual study, the restriction to a high-cost context and the small number of cases. Therefore, conclusions and proposed recommendations need to be further investigated in preferably larger samples of case studies.
Practical implications
By introducing contextual variables that go beyond traditional cost considerations, this work should be of special interest for both practitioners and academics, because the absorptive capacity for the exploitation of cutting-edge knowledge is globally scarce and hence rather expensive in Western countries compared with traditionally low-cost countries. Another practical contribution of this study is the conceptual backshoring readiness framework itself, as it can guide firms acquainting themselves with the resource availability in their home environment.
Originality/value
The research defines key resources needed to facilitate backshoring readiness in a conceptual framework developed from literature, which is then exemplified by a case study. This framework conceptualizes backshoring readiness as aspects of requirements to knowledge, technology and supplier infrastructures. Furthermore, the readiness framework developed provides firms and their managers with six recommendations that can enable a rigorous evaluation of a firm’s readiness to embark on backshoring and reflect on the aspect of fitness of its current strategies.
... Therefore, shared services are considered by some managers as internal outsourcing or insourcing (Lacity, Willcocks, & Rottman, 2008). In that regard, it should be noted that "[s]hared service organizations are seen by some as the step taken before outsourcing, and by others as the alternative to corporate outsourcing" (Aksin & Masini, 2008, p. 240). ...
... With the globalization of economic development, and the continuous refinement of international division of labor and cooperation, large multinational companies not only implement manufacturing outsourcing, but also implement Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) [1]. BPO means that the company outsources some repetitive non-core or core business processes to suppliers. ...
The security of a Cloud Computing Platform (CCP) is a key factor in its ability to operate successfully. Currently, the security issues of the physical resource layer and the user application layer of the cloud computing platform have been significantly studied in the field of information security and have already mature products and solutions. This research is aimed at the complex Business Process Outsourcing Cloud Computing Platform (BPO-CCP) for the banking and insurance industries. In particular we are concerned with the BPO-CCP's virtualization security, cloud data security, access control, user authentication and authorization, and cloud computing auditing. This paper analyzes the specific needs of the platform's security. Then the Security Mechanism of the BPO Cloud Computing Platform (SM-BPO-CCP) is designed. During its implementation (around five years at the time of writing) this SM-BPO-CCP that we have designed has efficiently provided security protection for up to twenty BPO companies with each having more than 1000 employees. This SM-BPO-CCP linked to ten large banks and insurance companies, none of which experienced any security issues due to the protection offered by the SM-BPO-CCP.
... Outsourcing decision-making depends on the amount of added value from outsourcing being the top priority and potential business advantage of the company. In this case, the outsourcing decision is based on business factors as well as technical and risk factors (Lacity et al., 2008). ...
Outsourcing is a matter worded in the Labor Act and the latest issue in relation to Indonesia labor. It is ruled in terms of easing employers to manage the company in providing the labor service. The implementation is regulated strictly in Article 64-66 of the Act Number 13, 2003 regarding the labor. However, in the implementation level the violation is unavoidable causing the trouble. It happens as the outsourcing is defect both the legislation and implementation. Arrangement concerning of outsourcing in Law Number 13 Year 2003 concerning labor, at one side have opened opportunity of new companies appearance which active in service, and on the other side, have enabled companies which have stood to do efficiency through exploiting of service company of outsourcing to product selected service or products which do not in direct correlation to especial business of company. There is no definitive measure him to determine especial as profession and not especial become the reason of justification for entrepreneur to execute outsourcing business regulation the clearness in execution of harmless outsourcing in job relation.
... In this study, the reversed global outsourcing strategy of interest primarily concerns the phenomenon of backsourcing, also referred to as backshoring, defined as a process of bringing once (globally) outsourced value-creating operations back to the home country or within the organization's own boundaries (Dachs et al., 2006;Kinkel et al., 2008;Holz, 2009;Kinkel and Maloca, 2009;Lacity et al., 2008). Our choice of highlighting the organizational boundaries, and not merely treating the process as a location decision, is based on the premise that intangible processes are strongly rooted in internal knowledge bases, which implies that ownership and organizational boundaries are of significant importance. ...
Purpose: Against the recent trend toward reversed global outsourcing, the purpose of this paper is to provide insights on how the internal process can be handled once the decision on reverse outsourcing has been made. The authors focus in particular on in-house knowledge and technology requirements.
Design/methodology/approach: To explore the topic at hand, the researchers conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with five companies operating in two different industry sectors.
Findings: Reversed outsourcing accentuates challenges relating to retained knowledge. When embarking on reversed outsourcing, companies need to acknowledge the effort to revive and renew capabilities in order to perform technical operations and advanced manufacturing production.
Research limitations/implications: The research is based on case studies in a Scandinavian context. Further empirical research from other high-cost locations is needed to validate the findings.
Originality/value: Explorative qualitative research is scarce in the emergent literature on reversed outsourcing. The paper provides practical and theoretical insights into how to handle diminishing knowledge in companies that are re-evaluating their sourcing strategies. It adds a knowledge dimension within the emergent literature. A framework for key success factors and propositions is also provided.
Keywords: Knowledge transfer, Outsourcing, Manufacturing strategy, Capabilities, Technology implementation, Reversed outsourcing, Backshoring
... The term backsourcing differs from the term "reshoring" or "backshoring" as the goal of backsourcing is to rebuild competences and capabilities internally in the organization, whereas reshoring/backshoring involves moving activities back to the organization's country of origin, but does not necessarily imply that the organization take the activity back in-house (Ancarani et al., 2015, Lacity et al., 2008, Nujen et al., 2015. Reshoring denotes the relocation of the activity to geographically closer locations, either domestic or nearshore countries. ...
The purpose of this study was to examine the backsourcing process. Based on previous research and lessons learned from a case study of a supplier of maritime equipment in a Scandinavian cluster, important drivers, activities and challenges related to the backsourcing process was identified. A framework as for how companies can conduct the backsourcing process was developed, consisting of four phases comprised with different objectives and activities. Moreover, three main challenges were identified, namely limitations in capacity, re-building knowledge, and adapting the backsourced product to the production site. The main contribution of this research was the development of a stepwise model as for how companies can backsource. In addition to filling a gap in the existing literature, the framework can also be used as an analytic tool that might help managers in dealing with the decisions and challenges related to the backsourcing process.
... Organizationally, companies intensified 'management-by-objective' principles, leaving it to their decentralized units to reach set targets. 'Business-within-a-business' formations ( Lacity et al. 2008) put pressure on company departments by setting return-on-investment targets, specified customer requirements, etc. (Marrs 2010: 344). This has resulted in a market-centered organization of work in which individual workers more directly than ever before face market requirements in their everyday working lives (Sauer 2010), intensification of work (see Paškvan and Kubicek, Chap. ...
This book examines the new ways of working and their impact on employees’ well-being and performance that have resulted from a changed world of work. It concentrates on job demands and flexible work emanating from current economic and organizational change, and assesses impact on workers’ health and performance. The development of issues such as globalization, rapid technological advances, new management practices, organizational changes and new job skills are addressed. This book gives an overview and discusses the potential negative and positive effects of such new job demands and new forms of work.
After completing this chapter, you should be able to:
Product recovery has fascinated the concentration of organizations and is prominent among industry practitioners and researchers due to improved environmental concerns, social awareness, and economic benefits. Circular supply chain (CSC) compounds the concept of product recovery in global supply chain management to present a sustainable perspective. Therefore, this study aims to determine impediments of product recovery and CSC toward sustainable production and consumption in the background of manufacturing organizations. This study determines potential impediments from literature and in consultation with experts. Further, a fuzzy VIKOR approach is practiced to prioritize the impediments of product recovery and CSC. Then, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to verify the robustness of the framework attained. The results from the study reflect that “lack of collaboration from supply chain performers”, “lack of tax policies for facilitating CSC models” and “limited expertise, technology, information on CSC practices” are the critical impediments to product recovery in CSCs. The findings of the study could assist industry managers and practitioners in developing procedures and strategies to attain sustainable development.
The purpose of this paper is to find out the development team structure and work division at the onsite and offshore location for development, re-engineering and maintenance projects in Indian outsourcing software industry. This study employs expert interview approach in Indian software industry to find out team structure and work division between onsite and offshore locations. The requisite data were collected through focus group meeting, expert interviews and direct observations. The study found that the development projects require higher onsite presence in comparison to re-engineering and maintenance projects and offshore team involved in coding and testing work. The role and responsibilities of team members at onsite and offshore location varies drastically for different kinds of projects in an outsourcing environment. The software project manager can use the findings to get more insight into the project and divide the software team between onsite and offshore location. The study is novel as there is little attempt at finding the team structure to execute various kinds of business software development in outsourcing environment in the context of India.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the role of leadership in implementing Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in a knowledge process outsourcing/business process outsourcing (KPO/BPO) service environment. KPO/BPO organizations present unique operational challenges such as client contractual obligations, young worker age profile, high attrition, dynamic outsourced business processes, technological disruptions to list a few. To implement LSS in such an environment, leadership plays a crucial role. While it is known that leadership is a critical success factor for LSS implementation, their role in a recently evolved KPO/BPO sector is hardly studied leading to high failures. The present study aims to address this gap.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case study research method is used. A case study protocol consisting of research outline, data collection plan, interview schedule and list of expert reviewers was prepared. A semi-structured interview schedule of the case organization was used that covered exploring the leadership role in terms of their leadership style, communication, employee engagement and their ability to guide program in entire LSS implementation process. Further depth is obtained by considering dimensions of LSS implementation process such as actors involved, processes adopted, performance outcomes, implementation challenges and competency requirements. Primary and secondary data from two case studies yielded rich insights and helped to answer the research questions around role of leadership in LSS implementation for the KPO/BPO service environment.
Findings
This research case study demonstrates key leadership competencies that lead to successful implementation of LSS in two KPO/BPO organizations. To handle implementation challenges, a combination of LSS and transformation style of leadership style was observed. Leadership role focussed on coaching and empowering, rather than telling and controlling. Apart from the 17 leadership competencies seen in published literature, the authors observed 12 specific competencies (7 interpersonal and 5 LSS) in two case organizations that enabled effective LSS implementation. This study also gives an in depth understanding of the leadership role and enabling competencies during LSS implementation.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the inherent limitations of case study research method, researchers and practitioners must be cautious to the extent of generalization of findings and the conclusions.
Practical implications
Positioning leadership to managing the LSS implementation in KPO/BPO service operations helps in innovative adaption of standard improvement methodologies (such as LSS) to address their specific problems and deliver on the overall organizational goals.
Originality/value
Current study explores in depth how leadership role impacts LSS implementation in two KPO/BPO case organizations. Studies focussing on LSS service operations model in a KPO/BPO environment are not extensively published, especially those covering leadership role during LSS implementation.
Financial technology companies (fintechs) have gained tremendous importance in the last decade and particularly in the last four years. They have contributed with disruptive technological solutions and provided not only complementary but also substitute products to the traditional banking sector. New incumbents have been challenging banks already established and forced them to innovate in order to remain competitive. Indeed, banks have a heavy burden of slow processes, costly business models, and few innovative solutions. The authors collected 100 articles from Scopus related with the fintech and bank topics. This study adopted a hybrid design comprising a systematic qualitative review methods and narrative, supplemented by semantic network analysis. Based on the results of the systematic literature review, the authors explored the impacts that fintechs have had on traditional banking sector.
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the expertise level required in various kinds of business knowledge such as regulatory, domain, strategic, operation process and, business process to execute globally distributed software projects for development, re-engineering and maintenance projects in the Indian outsourcing software industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a questionnaire survey method to collect the expert responses for a knowledge management framework which is suggested in the literature for software development work. The questionnaire survey findings were verified by expert interviews.
Findings
The research shows that there is a lot of similarity between re-engineering and maintenance projects for different kinds of business knowledge expertise requirements for execution. The development projects require higher expertise in all the business knowledge for execution.
Research limitations/implications
The research work studies the business knowledge required for the execution of development, re-engineering and maintenance projects in Indian outsourcing software projects. However, the project’s characteristics can vary drastically for a single kind of project. So the study cannot be generalized and instead should be used as a tool for learning.
Practical implications
The research findings can be used by software project managers to get insight into project planning, which can help the division of work between the onsite, offshore team and individual work allocation.
Originality/value
The research is novel as there are very few previous attempts to find the business expertise needed to execute various kinds of software projects in the Indian outsourcing industry.
Published research on innovation from Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing (ITO/BPO) is rare [1]. Strategic innovation involves high uncertainties better addressed through agile methods and a collaborative approach [1, 2, 3]. Key success factors in delivering ITO/BPO innovation are high-quality relationships, trust and collaborative cultures [1, 2, 3, 4], and establishing an effective governance configuration. The authors report on longitudinal case studies of a global mining company (“GMC”) and a group of its suppliers aimed at understanding how GMC is developing “big data” applications to generate game-changing innovation. This paper describes how GMC has developed a “big data” platform to support internal staff, customers, consultants and third party suppliers to create applications that can transform global mining and smelting industries to deliver a price premium for GMC’s products. GMC has encountered a shortage of suitably experienced data scientists in its key operating locations resulting in a significant skills gap in its big data program. GMC’s sourcing strategy aims to build an open and collaborative ecosystem that draws upon secondary markets to help fill the skills gap. To create an environment in which open innovation [5] can flourish, GMC established an Analytics Speed Team (AST) as an internal consulting and program management group to drive faster progress with big data applications. A contribution of this research is to identify the role of AST in establishing an effective governance configuration for open innovation. A practical contribution is made by analysing the value of secondary markets for ITO services in a sourcing ecosystem optimised for delivering innovation.
An academic Paper from the Doctorate Research. This is a review paper that does an in depth literature review around Factors Limiting the Growth of Sri Lanka"s ICT / BPM Industry. Essentially, the study looks at both local and international literature available on this area. This literature survey was done as part of a doctoral degree research. The paper gives a clear understanding the definition and scope off the ICT/BPM industry. It also reveals where Sri Lanka stands compared to other countries. It also helps in establishing the important factors that are limiting the growth of ICT/BPM industry in Sri Lanka. For this, a special consideration has been given to literature related to Sri Lankan outsourcing industry, while weighing in from an international research literature perspective.
This book addresses the buying organizations' perspective on risks, relationships and success factors for accomplishing a successful IT Outsourcing (ITO). Today’s landscape in ITO is complex and these perspectives are important in ITO and therefore there is still a need for it to be further explored. Furthermore the studies concerned the risks, relationships and success factors in ITO need to be extended in more large companies from different countries to better understand how we could improve the ITO in these companies. In order to address this issue the authors of this book have performed different studies that span about 10 years concerning the risks, relationships and success factors in ITO in large companies in Sweden. The authors have focused on both theoretical and practical aspects concerning risks, relationships and success factors in ITO and they have used transaction cost theory, agency theory and core competency theory as main theories to support their research. The data concerning this study has been collected at two different times during the last 10 years with about five years' difference between them. In this way the performed research has enabled a comparison of the data collected on two different periods in time including of the related changes. The book will help researchers in ITO as well as practitioners like ITO decision makers in large companies to understand how to mitigate the ITO risks, improve their ITO relationships and identify the ITO success factors.
Outsourcing generally involves non-strategic resources and/or non-asset specific capabilities. However, in this paper, the authors examine the non-traditional, but increasingly more common, use of IT to facilitate theoretically inconsistent outsourcing decisions involving core resources and capabilities. The authors reconcile theory with practice by developing propositions to explain how IT can enable such outsourcing decisions and how performance advantages may ensue. The authors develop a finer-grained perspective of the constructs of knowledge-based resources and capabilities. The paper concludes with a discussion arguing that such IT-enabled outsourcing decisions, if implemented correctly, can provide an organization with both capability advantages and cost benefits, resulting in higher performance.
Financial technology companies (fintechs) have gained tremendous importance in the last decade and particularly in the last four years. They have contributed with disruptive technological solutions and provided not only complementary but also substitute products to the traditional banking sector. New incumbents have been challenging banks already established and forced them to innovate in order to remain competitive. Indeed, banks have a heavy burden of slow processes, costly business models, and few innovative solutions. The authors collected 100 articles from Scopus related with the fintech and bank topics. This study adopted a hybrid design comprising a systematic qualitative review methods and narrative, supplemented by semantic network analysis. Based on the results of the systematic literature review, the authors explored the impacts that fintechs have had on traditional banking sector.
Virtual teams, especially hybrid virtual teams, are very popular within organizations today and are the prevalent setup in Shared Services Organizations. But as the following elaborations will show, a successful cooperation between the members of such teams may likely be at risk. Such cooperation problems usually arise through motivational and/or circumstantial reasons. Yet, as this context may be particularly challenging, in the study presented in this book I focus on the latter one and identify three contextual challenges as sensitizing concepts to better understand the circumstantial reasons for cooperation problems in hybrid virtual teams in Shared Services Organizations. Hence, I will start this chapter with a definition of teams and virtual teams to then conceptualize hybrid virtual teams. Afterwards, I will present the Shared Services Organizations as an example for a particularly challenging context for hybrid virtual teams. Then, I will define the cooperation problem in such teams and introduce the three sensitizing concepts of contextual challenges related to distance, technology and temporality. Thereby, I will outline how each of them may compound the cooperation problem between the members of hybrid virtual teams in Shared Services Organizations.
Nowadays the costs of doing business have been increased and become more competitive than before. Hence, many organizations have been thinking to outsource activities which are not the core competence of the organization such as finance and accounting, information technology, human resources, and any other back-office activities. This research provides an understanding of the factors influencing of the organization intends to outsource the finance and accounting activities decision for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. The research uses a qualitative exploratory and explanatory method. The qualitative data collected via individual interviews with Malaysia Small and Medium Enterprises’ decision makers and a higher level of management group which comprises of individual or organizations. The results suggest that Malaysian SMEs would shorten their decision-making process to make a business process outsource if they can see the success story of other organizations.
Purpose
The paper aims to study manpower dynamics at offshore and onsite location for maintenance project, which are transferred to offshore location in a phase-wise manner. The purpose of the paper is to find good values of onsite–offshore team strength, the number of hours of communication between onsite and offshore teams for smooth transfer of software maintenance project to offshore location.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses system dynamics simulation approach to study manpower allocation at onsite and offshore locations to transfer the maintenance work to offshore location in a gradual manner. The authors consulted 13 experts from Indian software outsourcing industry during the model construction and validation.
Findings
The simulation results show that the complexity of maintenance project has an insignificant effect on offshore migration. The maintenance work transfer should start with initial onsite team strength higher than that of required for ticket solving and project. The initial offshore team strength should be based on training capacity available at the onsite location. The higher attrition rate at an offshore is detrimental for offshore migration.
Research limitations/implications
The implication of the study is in the development of a broad framework of software maintenance work transfer to offshore locations for Indian software outsourcing projects. As the study is based on expert opinion in the context of India, it cannot be generalized for outsourcing scenarios elsewhere.
Practical implications
The software project manager can use the findings to get more insight into maintenance project offshore migration and divide the software team between onsite and offshore location.
Originality/value
The study is novel as there is little attempt at finding the manpower composition at onsite and offshore locations for software maintenance project during the migration phase.
This chapter presents the definition of Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO), the importance and trends in ITO, the research problem, goals, and motivations including the delimitations of performing research in ITO in large companies.
In this chapter are described IT outsourcing services, IT outsourcing types, total versus selective IT outsourcing, single versus multiple providers, and how to select IT outsourcing provider. Additionally, this chapter includes the theories in IT outsourcing used in this research and also the risks, relationships and success factors in IT outsourcing that are our research goals.
This chapter presents the contributions, limitations of this research and recommendations for future research.
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the role of language in international business context, especially in a post-merger integration (PMI) process, and to develop a framework for language strategies in a PMI context.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the authors’ review and building on earlier works, this paper develops a conceptual model regarding the use of language in different PMI scenarios and identifies the key resource mix that may be suited for an effective deployment of language strategies.
Findings
The authors find that the use of a language at target firms depends on the degrees of strategic interdependence and organizational autonomy. They classify different constellations of targets in a PMI context and propose the most appropriate language strategies for different classification of PMI firms.
Research limitations/implications
The authors develop five testable future research propositions based on our conceptual model. The paper is not without its limitations. The authors’ propositions need to be tested in future studies. It may be sometimes difficult to collect data based on all the four segments of firms using a quantitative design. It is also challenging to investigate about the language used at the target firms using quantitative designs.
Practical implications
The authors’ model has several practical implications for the managers. Bidder firm’s managers can decide the use of appropriate language depending on their acquisition strategy. It is very likely that target managers have to change the language following the acquisition, and because of this change, influence on their routines will be significant. This issue becomes most important if both firms do not speak the common corporate language – English language. The authors bring ideas for a best fit, which are applicable not just for merger and acquisition but also for other strategic sourcing areas such as outsourcing strategies.
Social implications
There are several negative emotions that are invoked through language. Language is also power laden and affects social structure and group dynamics at work. By addressing the use of appropriate language strategies, people can potentially avoid the dark side of language.
Originality/value
The authors present testable propositions for future research in a PMI context.
An interview study focusing on online collaboration in geographically distributed IT development teams in Danske Bank revealed seven problem areas. To cope with the problems the authors applied a design science research approach to construct a conceptual framework for improving online collaboration. The conceptual framework combines a six-phase teambuilding model with six elements of social capital. Thus, in each phase of teambuilding, the online collaborators aim at building up all six elements of social capital. The complete six-by-six framework was successfully tried and diffused throughout Danske Bank. This chapter gives an account of the framework content and the results from the evaluation.
Cloud computing can be considered a form of information technology outsourcing (ITO). However, it is more flexible than traditional ITO because no service volumes and no long contract periods need to be fixed. Companies that employ cloud computing may use several cloud service suppliers at the same time. Similarly, many companies that employ traditional ITO have contracts with several vendors. If the rendered services need to be coordinated, additional efforts are needed to manage this multi-sourcing environment. We find that the coordination arrangements known in multi-sourcing also occur in multi-cloud computing, but that significant differences exist in the actual coordination implementation. Based on the technology applied in cloud computing, new software has been developed to automate the integration tasks. In addition, many new players who offer coordination of multiple clouds as a service have entered the market.
This research investigated Capability Maturity Models (CMMs) / Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) best practices and their effects on managing and mitigating critical issues associated with offshore development. Using a web-based survey, data were collected from 451 Information Technology (IT) and software development firms in the US. The results of the analysis show that IT companies applying CMM/CMMI models have fewer issues associated with IT offshoring. When US IT companies utilizing and incorporating different practices from Team Software Process (TSP) and People CMM into CMMI-DEV/SVC is CMMI for Development and Services (CMMI-DEV/SVC) and CMMI for Acquisition (CMMI-ACQ), they have fewer offshoring issues related to language barriers and cultural differences.
Purpose
Through the literature, the effect of macro-environment on onshore outsourcing decisions appears rather unexplored, despite empirical evidence. This research addresses this gap through an extension of Transaction cost Economics (the main theory of domestic outsourcing).
Design/methodology/approach
This research note develops a framework based on a literature review. It applies this body of knowledge on a new question and provides detailed illustrations (with primary and secondary data).
Findings
This research builds a theoretical framework, based on the concept of transition costs. This concept, created as a way to make the economizing approach more dynamic, highlights the influences of the macro-environment. This research note presents a clarification of transition costs. It formulates a theoretical proposition: the environment has an effect on outsourcing through the transition costs.
Research limitations/implications
This framework deserves to be tested through an empirical study.
Practical implications
This framework enables domestic providers to take the environment and transition costs into account for the design and timing of outsourced service.
Originality/value
First, this research addresses an unexplored question (the effect of macro-environment on onshore outsourcing decisions). Second, it refines an undertheorized TCE concept: the transition costs. Third, it proposes a new direction in the current debate of the evanishing explanatory power of the TCE on outsourcing (by extending this theory).
To achieve lasting competitiveness through IT, according to the authors, companies face three enduring challenges: focusing IS efforts to support business strategies and using IT innovations to develop new, superior strategies; devising and managing effective strategies for the delivery of low-cost, high-quality IS services; and choosing the technical platform on which to mount IS services. Three strands of research - on the CIO's role and experience, the CIO's capabilities, and IS/IT outsourcing - demonstrate that businesses need nine core IS capabilities to address these challenges: 1. Leadership. Integrating IS/IT effort with business purpose and activity. 2. Business systems thinking. Envisioning,he business process that technology makes possible. 3. Relationship building. Getting the business constructively engaged in IS/IT issues. 4. Architecture planning. Creating the blueprint for a technical platform that responds to current and future business needs. 5. Making technology work. Rapidly achieving technical progress - by one means or another. 6. Informed buying. Managing the IS/IT sourcing strategy that meets the interests of the business. 7. Contract facilitation. Ensuring the success of existing contracts for IS/IT services. 8. Contract monitoring. Protecting the business's contractual position, cu:rent and future. 9. Vendor development. Identifying the potential added value of IS/IT service suppliers. IS professionals and managers need to demonstrate a changing mix of technical, business, and interpersonal skills. The authors trace the role these skills play in achieving the core IS capabilities and discuss the challenges of adapting core IS capabilities to particular organizational contexts. Their core IS capability model implies migration to a relatively small IS function, staffed by highly able people. To sustain their ability to exploit IT, the authors conclude, organizations must make the design of flexible IS arrangements a high-priority task and take an anticipatory rather than a reactive approach to that task.
In the last fifteen years, academic research on information systems (IS) outsourcing has evolved rapidly. Indeed the field of outsourcing research has grown so fast that there has been scant opportunity for the research community to take a collective breath, and complete a global assessment of research activities to date. This paper seeks to address this need by exploring and synthesizing the academic literature on IS outsourcing. It offers a roadmap of the IS outsourcing literature, highlighting what has been done so far, how the work fits together under a common umbrella, and what the future directions might be.
In order to adequately address the immense diversity of research on IS outsourcing and outsourcing in general, we develop a conceptual framework that helps us to categorize the literature. In particular, we look at the research objectives, methods used and theoretical foundations of the papers. In identifying the major research objectives, we view outsourcing as an organizational decision process and adapt Simon's stage model of decision making. This allows us to identify five major sourcing issues, from which at least one is covered by each academic article. These are the questions of why to outsource, what to outsource, which decision process to take, how to implement the sourcing decision, and what is the outcome of the sourcing decision. In analyzing the literature, we identify and structure the main explanatory factors and theoretical relationships within each of these sourcing stages. Based on our discussion of the research objectives, theoretical foundations and research approaches taken in the literature, we show how the various research streams hang together and we come up with a number of implications for research. Moreover, we identify a number of emerging sourcing issues. We believe that research on these "new" phenomena such as offshore outsourcing, application service providing and business process outsourcing would benefit from 'standing on the shoulders' of what has already been accomplished in the field of IS outsourcing.
In many developing countries, the growth of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector is becoming a remarkable phenomenon. Such growth is influenced by a huge variety of economic (infrastructure and social development), institutional (finance and legal system) and environmental (education system and culture) factors. In this context, forms of partnerships between local firms and multinational companies can play a key role in fostering the development of the ICT- sector.This article presents a study of the state of the art of the ICT sector in North Africa. Additionally, an in depth study of the situation in Morocco was carried out. It investigates, using several case studies, the value of the different models of partnership that have been created in the ICT service sector.
In the last fifteen years, academic research on information systems (IS) outsourcing has evolved rapidly. Indeed the field of outsourcing research has grown so fast that there has been scant opportunity for the research community to take a collective breath, and complete a global assessment of research activities to date. This paper seeks to address this need by exploring and synthesizing the academic literature on IS outsourcing. It offers a roadmap of the IS outsourcing literature, highlighting what has been done so far, how the work fits together under a common umbrella, and what the future directions might be. In order to adequately address the immense diversity of research on IS outsourcing and outsourcing in general, we develop a conceptual framework that helps us to categorize the literature. In particular, we look at the research objectives, methods used and theoretical foundations of the papers. In identifying the major research objectives, we view outsourcing as an organizational decision process and adapt Simon's stage model of decision making. This allows us to identify five major sourcing issues, from which at least one is covered by each academic article. These are the questions of why to outsource, what to outsource, which decision process to take, how to implement the sourcing decision, and what is the outcome of the sourcing decision. In analyzing the literature, we identify and structure the main explanatory factors and theoretical relationships within each of these sourcing stages. Based on our discussion of the research objectives, theoretical foundations and research approaches taken in the literature, we show how the various research streams hang together and we come up with a number of implications for research. Moreover, we identify a number of emerging sourcing issues. We believe that research on these "new" phenomena such as offshore outsourcing, application service providing and business process outsourcing would benefit from 'standing on the shoulders' of what has already been accomplished in the field of IS outsourcing.
We study the determinants of contract choice in offshore software development projects and examine how the choice of contract and other factors in the project affect project profits accruing to the software vendor. Using data collected on 93 offshore projects from a leading Indian software vendor, we provide evidence that specific vendor-, client-, and project-related characteristics such as requirement uncertainty, project team size, and resource shortage significantly explain contract choice in these projects. Our analysis suggests that contract choice significantly determines project profit. Additionally, some ex ante vendor-, client-, and project-related characteristics known at the time of choosing the contract continue to significantly influence project profits after controlling for contract choice. We also provide evidence to show that project duration and team size affect project profits.
IT offshore outsourcing means using an offshore provider to handle some of an enterprise�s IT work. Offshore outsourcing now has a track record, so it has become an option that IT leaders need to consider. But the practice has raised the issue of how to manage expertise dispersed across sites. Both clients and providers now realize that knowledge management is an important contributor to successful offshore outsourcing. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is a large IT services provider with headquarters in Mumbai, India. Much of its work is IT offshore outsourcing. We identified the following eight practices that TCS uses to manage dispersed expertise: 1. Implement an organizational structure that is a mirror image of the client�s structure. 2. Implement a knowledge transfer methodology. 3. Implement a knowledge retention methodology. 4. Monitor expertise development and retention at project and organizational levels. 5. Make expertise development a key organizational value. 6. Offer mechanisms to search for expertise at project and organizational levels. 7. Implement a reuse methodology at the global level. 8. Continuously measure the contribution of reusable assets. Based on our research, we believe that over the next five years, offshore providers will need to develop a system for managing knowledge and expertise, just as TCS has done, to compete and deliver on client expectations. We also see TCS�s experiences and practices as valuable to clients of IT offshore outsourcing providers.
To date, most research on information technology (IT) outsourcing concludes that firms decide to outsource IT services because they believe that outside vendors possess production cost advan- tages. Yet it is not clear whether vendors can pro- vide production cost advantages, particularly to large firms who may be able to replicate vendors' production cost advantages in-house. Mixed out- sourcing success in the past decade calls for a closer examination of the IT outsourcing vendor's value proposition. While the client's sourcing decisions and the client-vendor relationship have been examined in IT outsourcing literature, the vendor's perspective has hardly been explored. In this paper, we conduct a close examination of vendor strategy and practices in one long-term successful applications management outsourcing engagement. Our analysis indicates that the vendor's efficiency was based on the economic benefits derived from the ability to develop a complementary set of core competencies. This ability, in turn, was based on the centralization of decision rights from a variety and multitude of IT projects controlled by the vendor. The vendor was enticed to share the value with the client through formal and informal relationship manage- ment structures. We use the economic concept of
This paper examines the evolution of portfolio of controls over the duration of outsourced information systems development (ISD) projects. Drawing on five cases, it concludes that many findings from research on control of internal ISD projects apply to the outsourced context as well, but with some interesting differences. The portfolios of control in outsourced projects are dominated by outcome controls, especially at the start of the project; although the precision and frequency of these controls varies across projects. Behavior controls are often added later in the project, as are controls aimed to encourage and enable vendor self-control. Clan controls were used in only two of the cases--when the client and vendor had shared goals, and when frequent interactions led to shared values. In general, the outsourced projects we studied began with relatively simple controls but often required significant additional controls after experiencing performance problems. Factors influencing the choice and evolution of controls are also examined.
While it can bring several benefits, IT outsourcing entails some
risks. As is the case in other types of investments or business
ventures, the risk associated with an IT outsourcing project must be
evaluated and managed. This paper proposes a framework for the
management of IT outsourcing risk and assesses the usefulness of the
framework using data gathered about two cases of system development
outsourcing. After providing a conceptual definition of risk and of risk
exposure, the paper presents the proposed risk management framework. The
two cases are then described, along with the evaluation of the level of
risk exposure of each and the risk management mechanisms that were
included in the contracts. The results of the study suggest that, by
charting the various items that contribute to risk exposure and by
specifically applying appropriate mechanisms that can target those
elements with higher levels of risk exposure, outsourcing risk can be
adequately managed
In 1998, Feeny and Willcocks published the core information technology (IT) capabilities framework that identified four strategic domains (business, technology, third-party sourcing, and governance) and nine capabilities for high performing IT functions.1 This framework was subsequently adopted by many large organizations seeking to deliver highly effective and cost-efficient IT services. This chapter extends the framework beyond IT by applying it to other back offices, including human resources, accounting, finance, and procurement. The resulting framework offers a powerful model for creating high performing back offices in terms of strategic agility, service excellence, and cost-efficiency
Information Technology offshore outsourcing means using an offshore provider to handle some of an enterprise’s IT work. Offshore outsourcing now has a track record, so it has become an option that IT leaders need to consider. But the practice has raised the issue of how to manage expertise dispersed across sites. Both clients and providers now realize that knowledge management is an important contributor to successful offshore outsourcing.
In an attempt to increase both efficiency and service quality, more and more companies are outsourcing to 1 third-party suppliers some key business processes, such as human resources, information technology and procurement. The universe of potential suppliers is diverse and growing, made up of locally based specialists, offshore providers with comparatively low labor costs, and global suppliers who are able to apply sophisticated management techniques and technology. The challenge for clients is to understand their own requirements and to identify providers whose capabilities and objectives are best aligned with their particular needs. Drawing on extensive research, the authors identify three potentially critical areas of supplier competency: delivery competency, transformation competency and relationship competency. Within that context, they discuss 12 capabilities through examples drawn from the outsourcing experiences of firms such as BAE Systems, Lloyd's of London, Deutsche Bank and Bank of America. By benchmarking supplier capabilities against its strategic and operational intent, a company can work to establish relationships that support its business objectives. Copyright © Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005. All rights reserved.
The definitive decision-maker's guide to renting business applications over a network.
Netsourcing: The market, the players, the services
A guide to the fast-changing netsourcing playing field
Integrating netsourcing options within a total IT sourcing portfolio
Even large-size customers can benefit from selective netsourcing
Best practices for evaluating and selecting providers
Choosing partners that fit your approach to business—and have real staying power
Minimizing the risks of netsourcing partnerships
Realistic best practices for managing technical, contractual, operational, and managerial risk
Previewing new strategic options in netsourcing
What you need to know about "next-generation" netsourcing services—and service providers
Managing the netsourcing relationship successfully
Achieving the "holy grail": the "win-win" outsourcing relationship
Enterprise case studies: key outsourcing successes and failures
What works, and what doesn't: the experiences of today's leading global companies
Netsourcing is the practice of renting or "paying as you use" access to supplier-managed business applications, made available to multiple customers over the Internet or other networks. The concept of delivering business applications as a service—or "apps on tap"—was initially called application service provision (ASP). But that term has proved too narrow. Today customers are using netsourcing to hand over entire business processes to service providers, such as human resource management or accounting, and to remotely host and manage customer-grown applications.
The netsourcing value proposition to customers is compelling: no upfront infrastructure costs or costly software licenses, business applications delivered in days/weeks, scalable solutions that grow or contract with the customer's business, flexible solutions with minimal switching costs, and minimal expensive in-house support staff—to name a few. Given these benefits, who wouldn't want to netsource? On the downside, there are significant netsourcing risks that must be mitigated. The netsourcing of business applications is still seen as an immature option primarily offered by unstable dot.com start-ups. Business managers worry about the reliability and security of the Internet, feel that their business requirements are too idiosyncratic for canned, "one-to-many" solutions, and do not trust outsiders to supply mission-critical systems.
So how can businesses leverage the value offered by netsourcing while reducing its risks? How can businesses compare and integrate netsourcing with other sourcing options? Every business is asking questions like these. Netsourcing delivers the answers.
Based on unparalleled research at the world's leading enterprises, this book identifies the key factors associated with successful outsourcing—from planning through ongoing relationship management, and beyond. The authors show you how to take full advantage of the dramatic changes roiling the outsourcing marketplace, helping you realistically assess the promise of next-generation outsourced services—and the capabilities of the service providers who offer them.
"In the early phase of the evolution of the ASP market, few pioneers were willing to acknowledge the importance of understanding the concepts of outsourcing as they launched their offerings. The strongest survive, and will benefit from reading this comprehensive analysis of the third wave of outsourcing. The authors have shown insight and wisdom that makes this a must read for any company that is on the periphery or in the thick of delivering application services."
—Paula M. Hunter,
Chairman, ASP Industry Consortium
"The sourcing neophyte, expert, and supplier can all benefit from the wisdom of these pages."
Dennis McGuire,
Chairman and CEO,
Technology Partners International, Inc.
"An important book. It provides an insightful, in-depth analysis of exciting new markets in their embryonic stage. The authors spare no punches, but also show how fundamentally different modes of delivering infrastructure, services and applications are taking shape....If you want to understand the IT future, this is essential reading."
—Ghobad Broumand,
Chairman, MainPass Technologies
"Netsourcing...makes essential reading for those wanting to understand the new marketspace."
Sara Cullen, Managing Director, Cullen Associates
For more than a decade, the authors have studied the best, worst, and emerging information technology sourcing practices in 543 large and small organizations world-wide. From an initial focus on cost reduction in the early 1990s, the authors found that customers now expect many business advantages from IT outsourcing, including better service, infusion of new technology, transformation of fixed IT budgets to variable IT budgets, improved business processes, and even increased revenues. In short, customers expect IT outsourcing to transform IT functions into lean, dynamic groups that respond quickly to business needs and opportunities. But how do customers actually achieve such business advantage? Customers must become adept at managing four continual processes to successfully exploit IT outsourcing:
Assess the in-house IT portfolio to determine which activities are best outsourced
Evaluate market options for the best sourcing models and best suppliers to achieve customer objectives, ranging from simple ASP provision to the creation of customer-supplier joint ventures
Craft contracts to align customer and supplier expectations and incentives; and
Continually manage supplier relationships.
Major supplier lessons are also identified, which call for superior supplier integrity in selling, negotiating, and delivering IT services. The overall lesson is that outsourcing can achieve significant results, but it requires new management capabilities.
Drawing from the firsthand experiences of senior executives and IT managers in US and British companies, this article summarizes the expectations they had for outsourcing and explains what went wrong-and why-when expectations were not met. Successful outsourcing experiences are then used to outline a prescription for ensuring that expected benefits are fully realized.
In recent years, the decision to outsource information systems (IS) functions has become a viable strategic alternative in managing the increasingly complex IS functions. In this study, the IS outsourcing phenomenon is conceptualized as a strategic decision in the organization. Drawing on resource-based theories, resource dependence theories, and other theories of strategic management, a discrepancy model of this decision is developed. Relationships between a number of strategy-theoretic factors and the IS outsourcing decision are hypothesized. These factors include IS resource performance discrepancies manifested in the form of gaps in information quality, IS support quality, IS cost effectiveness and financial performance, as well as the strategic orientation of the firm. Results of the study indicate that, while cost consideration and the firm's financial performance are not associated with the IS outsourcing decision, difficulties in providing good information outputs and IS support services are associated with the decision. Overall, the findings suggest that the current trend toward outsourcing represents a continuing evolution of the IS function as it attempts to fulfill its traditional mission of providing high quality information resource to the firm. When the performance of the delivered resource begins to slip in the current environment of rising expectation and technological complexity, outsourcing may become a strategic response of necessity. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the results for practicing managers and suggestions for future research.
With the recent global recession, senior executives are desperate to cut costs from back office functions like information technology, human resource management, finance and accounting. Outsourcing these functions has been the primary cost reduction strategy for the past decade, and remains a viable option. But some innovative companies actually see the potential to participate as a supplier in the outsourcing space. Companies such as Lloyds of London, Bank of America, Barclays Bank, and BAE Systems have transformed high-cost, low-performing back office functions into commercial enterprises by partnering with key suppliers. The suppliers typically centralize, standardize, and web-enable the customer’s back office processes, retrain, empower, and motivate transitioned back office staff, and leverage the assets to attract external customers. The results are impressive: lower costs, better service, and revenue generation. Of course, such radical transformation is never pain-free. We aim to help senior executives assess the viability of commercialization of their own back offices and offer eight lessons derived from one customer’s experiences.
Rwanda has undergone a rapid turnaround from one of the most technologically deficient countries only a decade ago to a country where legislative business is conducted online and wireless access to the Internet is available anywhere in the country. This is puzzling when viewed against the limited progress made in other comparable developing countries, especially those located in the same region, sub-Saharan Africa, where the structural and institutional constraints to e-government diffusion are similar. Based on an exploratory case study of the country's e-government system that draws on group and social theories, I argue that the convergence of four factors associated with the policy environment, political leadership, emigrants and refugee returnees, and epistemic communities account for Rwanda's achievements. The primacy of interest group politics in the unfolding story of e-government diffusion in developing countries is underscored and potential areas for further research highlighted.
A large US company, not discouraged by its first failed attempt at offshore outsourcing, capitalized on that experience to build a global development model designed to improve quality, shorten cycle time, and decrease development costs. The company's first failed attempt exceeded project budgets, decreased software quality, and left projects unfinished. In its second offshore attempt, however, development costs decreased 10 to 15 percent compared to onshore costs, large government-mandated regulatory projects completed in less time, and internal IT staff morale increased. This experience shows how both the people involved in offshore projects and the projects themselves must be treated differently from internally developed projects. Even with the high complexities and intellectual property concerns surrounding embedded software development, the company has used these practices to establish processes that ensure successful delivery and protection of its intellectual property.
Following Kodak's landmark information technology (IT) outsourcing decisions in 1989 the IT outsourcing market grew to 76 billion dollars in 1995. As the outsourcing market continues to grow and as new contracting options emerge, the accumulated experiences of firms offer significant opportunities for learning. This paper builds on a previous collection of data on 61 IT sourcing decisions made in 40 US. and U.K. organizations during the period 1991 to 1995. This paper reanalyzed transcribed interviews from 145 participants. Using "expected cost savings achieved" as an indicator of success, five best practices were identified in the case companies. First, selective outsourcing decisions had higher success rates than total outsourcing or total insourcing decisions. Second, senior executives and IT managers who made decisions together had higher success rates than either stakeholder group acting alone. Third, organizations that invited both internal and external bids had higher success rates than organizations that merely compared external bids with current IT costs. Fourth, short-term contracts achieved higher success rates than long-term contracts. Fifth, detailed fee-for-service contracts had higher success rates than other types of fee-for-service contracts. The critical elements of three contracting models the described: fee-for-service contracts, strategic alliances/partnerships, and buying-in of vendor resources. When the practices generated from the case studies are compared with current practices, we begin to understand which practices are proving robust and why new practices emerge. For example, in the participating companies, the rhetoric of a "partnership" was misused to describe contracts that are actually fee-for-service contracts. Today practitioners who understand the inherent conflicts in fixed fee-for-service contracts are demanding what they perceive to be more favorable contracting options, such as flexibly-priced contracts, performance-based contracts, and strategic alliances based on shared risks and rewards. This analysis reconciles some of the apparent discrepancies in past findings about the best ways to source IT.
In India, the turnover rates have been reported as high as 80% in the IT services sector (Gupta 2001) and as high as 100% for Indian call centers (Mitchell 2005, 2007). For example, Wipro announced that it replaced 90% of its call enter and BPO workers in 2004 (McCue 2005). The lowest rates we found reported on turnover in Indian software services was 30% (Mitchell 2004). No matter which turnover number one considers — the low estimate of 30% or the high estimate of 100%, there is no denying that turnover is a major issue to Indian suppliers and their global clients. Supplier staff turnover delays the clients' projects, reduces quality, and increases costs (Jiang & Klein 2002). Clearly, both clients and suppliers share the objective of high retention of the supplier's most qualified workers.
Offshore outsourcing drags down US bonus pay
- M Mcgee
McGee, M. (2003), ''Offshore outsourcing drags down US bonus pay'', InformationWeek. Meyer, T. (2006), Nearshoring to Central and Eastern Europe, White Paper, Deutsche Bank Research.
Software: will outsourcing hurt America's supremacy?
- R Hof
- J Kerttetter
Hof, R. and Kerttetter, J. (2004), ''Software: will outsourcing hurt America's supremacy?'' Business Week, No. 3872, pp. 84-95.
Nearshoring to Atlantic Canada: is it the smart alternative to offshore outsourcing to India?'', White PaperSuccessfully outsourcing embedded software development
- S Ramanujam
Ramanujam, S. (2005), ''Nearshoring to Atlantic Canada: is it the smart alternative to offshore outsourcing to India?'', White Paper, available at: http://nearshoring.ca/whitepaper01.htm Rottman, J.W. (2006), ''Successfully outsourcing embedded software development'', IEEE Computer, Vol. 39 No. 1, pp. 55-61.
Knowledge Process Outsourcing: Origin, Current State, and Future Directions
- Evalueserve
Evalueserve. (2007), Knowledge Process Outsourcing: Origin, Current State, and Future Directions, 16 July. Everest Group. (2007), Business Process Outsourcing: Indian Supplier Landscape, ERI.2007.
Person-to-Person OffshoringManaging risk in it outsourcing
- A Aggarwal
- B Aubert
- S Dussault
- M Patry
- S And Rivard
Aggarwal, A. (2007), Person-to-Person Offshoring, Evalueserve Report, April. Aubert, B., Dussault, S., Patry, M. and Rivard, S. (1999), ''Managing risk in it outsourcing'', Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, pp. 685-91.
What's happening in ChinaForecast: IT outsourcing, worldwideThe ICT service industry in North Africa and role of partnerships in Morocco
- S Bahl
- J Arora
- A D Gupta
- De Souza
- R Young
- A Goodness
- E Silliman
- R G Esposito
- G Iandoli
- L And Raffa
Bahl, S., Arora, J. and Gupta, A. (2007), ''What's happening in China'', The Everest Group, ERI.2007,2.W.0172. Blackmore, D., De Souza, R., Young, A., Goodness, E. and Silliman, R. (2005), ''Forecast: IT outsourcing, worldwide, 2002-2008'', Gartner Report, March. Bruno, G., Esposito, G., Iandoli, L. and Raffa, M. (2004), ''The ICT service industry in North Africa and role of partnerships in Morocco'', Journal of Global Information Technology Management, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 5-26.
The core capabilities framework for achieving high performing back officesThe value of selective IT sourcing
- L Willcocks
- D M Feeny
- L Willcocks
- D Feeny
Willcocks, L. and Feeny, D. (2006), ''The core capabilities framework for achieving high performing back offices'', in Willcocks, L. and Lacity, M. (Eds), Global Sourcing of Business and IT Services, Palgrave, Basingstoke, pp. 67-96. Further reading Lacity, M., Willcocks, L. and Feeny, D. (1996), ''The value of selective IT sourcing'', Sloan Management Review, Vol. 37 No. 3, pp. 13-25. Corresponding author Mary C. Lacity can be contacted at: Mary.Lacity@umsl.edu To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints
Turnover intentions of Indian IS professionals'', Information Systems Frontiers, Special Issue on Outsourcing of IT Services (forthcoming)
- M Lacity
- V Lyer
- P And Rudramuniyaiah
Lacity, M., lyer, V. and Rudramuniyaiah, P. (2008), ''Turnover intentions of Indian IS professionals'', Information Systems Frontiers, Special Issue on Outsourcing of IT Services (forthcoming).
Offshoring of IT Services - Present and Future
- A Aggarwal
- A Pandey
Person-to-Person Offshoring
- A Aggarwal
Turnover intentions of Indian IS professionals”, Information Systems Frontiers
- M Lacity
- V Lyer
- P Rudramuniyaiah
Nearshoring to Atlantic Canada: is it the smart alternative to offshore outsourcing to India?”, White Paper
- S Ramanujam
What's happening in China
- S Bahl
- J Arora
- A Gupta
Forecast: IT outsourcing, worldwide
- D Blackmore
- R De Souza
- A Young
- E Goodness
- R Silliman
Nearshoring to Central and Eastern Europe, White Paper
- T Meyer
Move over rainforest, save rural America!”, WorldnetDailyNews
- C Norris