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Advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing: Analysis of outsourcing practices of Kazakhstan banks

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In contemporary life, where competition among businesses intensifies rapidly, one of the instruments that will give possibility to open access to nearly every resource that offered in market is outsourcing. Drawing from Resource-Based View, Core Competency Theory, and Transaction Cost Approach, this study analyzes outsourcing practices of Kazakhstan banks. Sample of this research consists of three banks operating in Kazakhstan: HSBC Bank Kazakhstan, BTA Bank and Halyk Bank. Results of face-to-face interview with managers of these banks reveal that, advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing vary according to its type and size. In spite of the fact that outsourcing became very popular topic among scientific works all over the world, there is no research done on outsourcing activities in Kazakhstan particularly, and especially in banking industry of the republic.
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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 41 ( 2012 ) 188 – 195
1877-0428 © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of The First International Conference on Leadership,
Technology and Innovation Management
doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.04.023
International Conference on Leadership, Technology and Innovation Management
Advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing: analysis of
outsourcing practices of Kazakhstan banks
Gulzhanat Tayauov
a
*
Kazakh-British Technical University, Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan
Abstract
In contemporary life, where competition among businesses intensifies rapidly, one of the instruments that will give
possibility to open access to nearly every resource that offered in market is outsourcing. Drawing from Resource-
Based View, Core Competency Theory, and Transaction Cost Approach, this study analyzes outsourcing practices of
Kazakhstan banks. Sample of this research consists of three banks operating in Kazakhstan: HSBC Bank Kazakhstan,
BTA Bank and Halyk Bank. Results of face-to-face interview with managers of these banks reveal that, advantages
and disadvantages of outsourcing vary according to its type and size. In spite of the fact that outsourcing became very
popular topic among scientific works all over the world, there is no research done on outsourcing activities in
Kazakhstan particularly, and especially in banking industry of the republic.
Keywords: outsourcing; advantages and disadvantages; resource-based view; core competence
© 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of International
Conference on Leadership, Technology and Innovation Management
1. Introduction
Outsourcing is one of the most effective activities in contemporary business, because many companies
try to use all innovations of science, techniques and technologies to issue qualified and competitive
product which will satisfy consumer. This situation is very usable for both parts, because each of them
can concentrate its resources on development of core competencies and prospective directions of activity
[1]. This leads to essential reduction of expenses on production of the end product because each part
works on that it can do best without applying additional effort and without investing for learning new
activity types.
This study focuses on advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing experienced by Kazakhstani
banks. The study begins with a literature review of outsourcing including the theories and types of
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +7-727-250-4649; fax: +7-727-272-0487.
E-mail address: dr.gulzhanat@gmail.com
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
© 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of The First International Conference
on Leadership, Technology and Innovation Management Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
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outsourcing, its advantages and disadvantages. Then, research methodology, analyses and results of this
study will be presented. The last part discusses conclusion and recommendations for further research.
2. Literature Review
2.1. Definition and Types of Outsourcing
According Power et al. outsourcing is made up of two words out and “sourcing”; sourcing refers to
the act of transferring work, responsibilities and decision rights to someone else. Companies must
source out work because there are others who can do it cheaper, faster, and better [4]. Ashley gave the
definition of outsourcing as “the allocation of risk and responsibility for performing a function or service
to another entity” [5]. In brief, outsourcing can be defined as the process of delegation of operations or
jobs to the third party, who can do it better, cheaper and faster. Depending on level of control over
performance of outsourced function, outsourcing can be separated into internal and external types.
Internal outsourcing is reallocation of functions in business system for saving control over its
performance” and external outsourcing is delegation of performance of separate or mutually related
functions to external outsourcer [6]. For example, divisions of joint activities of external outsourcing
include centers concept, cooperation, joint servicing, and participation in capital, whereas divisions of
joint activities of internal outsourcing include long-term partnership, short-term partnership, and single
partnerships. Depending on effective use of resources and reallocation of risk and responsibility
outsourcing is divided into partial and full outsourcing types. Partial or selective outsourcing is the
delegation of certain functions or business processes to outsourcer, while set of mutually related functions
are performed by company itself” and full outsourcing refers to “the delegation of separate function to
outsourcing company with entrusting it with full responsibility for function’s performance” [7].
2.2. Theories Related to Outsourcing
Outsourcing consists of different activities and each phenomenon can be described by several
frameworks that are embedded in various theoretical approaches. Much of the studies on outsourcing
have been affected by three approaches: Resource-Based View, Core Competency Approach, and
Transaction Cost Theory. The resource-based view in outsourcing builds from a proposition that an
organization that lacks valuable, rare, inimitable and organized resources and capabilities, shall seek for
an external provider in order to overcome that weakness [8], [9]. According to Perunović and Pedersen,
the most prominent use of the resource-based theory in outsourcing process is the preparation phase for
defining the decision making framework and in the vendor selection phase for selecting an appropriate
vendor [10]. Organizations will plug gaps in resources and capabilities in the most cost-effective manner
to maintain a distinctive product and its competitive advantage [11]. The essence of the core competency
theory is that it should be kept in-house, but that other activities that the organization deals with, which
are not counted to be core or critical to its function, should be considered for outsourcing [12], [13].
According to Henry “a core competence can be thought of as a cluster of attributes that an organization
possesses which in turn allows it to achieve competitive advantage” [14]. If the organization is to focus
on its core competencies as the basis of its sustainable competitive advantage, then activities which do not
constitute a core competence for the firm can be given to outside firms who can provide these at lower
cost. Additionally, transaction cost theory has been developed to facilitate an analysis of the comparative
costs of planning, adapting, and monitoring task completion under alternative governance structures [15].
The unit of analysis in transaction cost theory is a transaction, which by the words of Williamson “occurs
when a good or service is transferred across a technologically separate interface” [16]. Decision-makers
must weigh up the production and transaction costs associated with executing a transaction within their
firms insourcing, versus the production and transaction costs associated with executing the transaction
190 Gulzhanat Tayauova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 41 ( 2012 ) 188 – 195
in the market outsourcing. Organizations can choose whether to buy from the market or to develop in-
house, the decision is based on the relative cost, which is combined from the costs of production and costs
of the transaction.
2.3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Outsourcing
Advantages of Outsourcing: The most significant advantages of outsourcing are focus on core
activities, cost savings, access to experience, improving performance, and flexibility. First, many
researchers agree on the fact that by handing over noncore activities to a trusted third party, a company
can concentrate on activities central to its value proposition and increase its competitive positioning [17],
[18]. Second, outsourcing in general is held toward one of the main goals as cost savings [19], [20], [21].
The special necessity arises when a certain resource, either human or equipment resources, is not needed
full time, or the efforts to obtain the resource cannot be justified. For example, for a medium-size
business keeping technical expertise and maintenance is needed occasionally. Since the cost of hiring and
training an engineer who is competent in computer support is too high, it will be beneficial for the
organization to outsource this task. Third, by outsourcing companies have the possibility to access to
highly qualified personnel, who may not be available to the client organization [22] and fully exploit the
suppliers’ investments, innovations, and specialist capabilities [23]. Fourth, an important reason for
outsourcing consideration is achievement of an improvement in performance that the outsourcer company
might offer due to economies of scale. Large scale can provide a variety of functions and opportunities
which will help to save the best available worker, who might not want to work in a less stimulating
consumer environment. Additionally, with service providers the level of operational experience is
expected to be higher, because of the greater concentration of staff on tasks as compared to internal
operations [24]. Fifth, flexibility is the key reason for outsourcing for many companies. Outsourcers’
contracts and the jobs of their employees depend on the degree of flexibility to reflect changing business
environments.
Disadvantages of Outsourcing: Main disadvantages of outsourcing are loss of managerial control over
outsourced operations, threat to security and confidentiality, quality problems, hidden costs and
reallocation of existing teams. First, disadvantage related to the lost of control over the outsourced
operations stems from the reason that managing external resources requires special skills which is a
combination of the skills of people and process management, contract management, and power
negotiation. Second, almost every outsourcing contract has terms of security and confidentiality spelled
out, but the execution and audit are always difficult. In financial services, requirements keep information
known to investment bankers away from traders, brokers, and other individuals who might attempt to use
such insider information improperly [25]. Third, one reason to outsource is the expectation of receiving
better service from the outsourcer than from internal staff. Outsourcer has to be chosen in that particular
way to ensure that there is no bad influence on the quality of goods and services produced. Otherwise,
company may loose its position on the market [26]. Fourth, company will sign a contract with the
outsourcing company that will cover the details of the service that they will be providing. Anything not
covered in the contract will be the basis for the company to pay additional charges. For example, an
analyst may intentionally exclude costs to favor one decision, such as selecting one provider versus
another, choosing in-sourcing over outsourcing, or staying in a particular business or not [27]. Fifth, the
outsourcing is often related to the firing in employees’ minds. It is also a problem for the organization’s
top management team to decide how to reallocate the existing employees. Often after outsourcing a part
of the original team moves from outsourcing party to the outsourced one [28], which in turn causes major
changes. According to Bragg, sponsoring such a major change and seeing it fail can lead to termination of
one or more of a company’s management staff [29].
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Gulzhanat Tayauova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 41 ( 2012 ) 188 – 195
3. Methodology
3.1. Significance and Objectives of Research
Significance of this research is in analyzing current state of outsourcing practices in Kazakhstan banks.
In spite of the fact that outsourcing became very popular topic among scientific works all over the world,
there is no research done on outsourcing activities in Kazakhstan particularly, and especially in banking
industry of the republic. As well as outsourcing became a systematical study for many of researchers, it
started to bear many positive and negative characteristics from theoretical view, while the reality for
organizations can be different. Certainly, outsourcing is a wide-spread activity which is practiced nearly
by every business sphere, so, it has to be taken into account that all features presented by scientists, who
analyze outsourcing phenomena, are applicable. Therefore, the objective of this research is to identify real
advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing by focusing on benefits gained and risks faced particularly
by Kazakhstan banks.
3.2. Sample, Data Collection, Measures and Limitations of Research
Increasing outsourcing experience by banking industry makes banks to be a good candidate for this
study. Sample of this research consists of three banks operating in Kazakhstan: HSBC Bank Kazakhstan,
BTA Bank and Halyk Bank. For performing proper research it is necessary to choose correct research
method that will provide with wide information related to a subject that is being discussed. Face-to-face
interview with top managers of companies was chosen as the method of current research. The main
advantage of face-to-face interview is that the researcher can adapt the questions as necessary and ensure
that the responses are properly understood by repeating or rephrasing the questions [30]. For this reason,
Assistant of Bank Chairman of HSBC Bank Kazakhstan, Head of Payment Cards Department of BTA
Bank, and Head of Processing Division of Card Center of Halyk Bank Kazakhstan were interviewed in
February-March 2009. Respondents were guided by a list of interview topics about key factors of this
study. There was no bias problem from leading respondents to focus only items on the list because the list
was used as an outline of the interview. Respondents were free to discuss at all time. The interview was
conducted in Russian language and interview time was varying in length from 30 minutes to one hour.
According to Patton's suggestion, in face-to-face interview it is better to start conversation in neutral way
[31]. Therefore, first five questions have been asked to gather general information concerning the
company and its outsourcing practices. Questions from 1 to 5 identify respondent’s position in the bank,
functions that are outsourced by the bank, duration, size, types, and satisfaction with the results of
outsourcing. Additionally, to measure advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing, questions were taken
from Johansson and Reischl [32], Schniederjans and Cao [33], Gul and Zaib [34]. Overall 10 items with
5-point ordinal scale were used to analyze advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing. Concerning the
limitations, the subject of this work itself implies to some limitations. These limitations refer to the
difficulty in gathering primary data due to the security and confidentiality reasons. The other important
restriction faced while conducting this research relates to no interest in helping from the side of top
managers that were planned to be interviewed.
4. Analyses and Results
HSBC Bank Kazakhstan is one of the branches of international HSBC Group which successfully
operates in broad network all over the world. Kazakhstan representative of HSBC Group is counted to be
small in comparison to other local banks. Therefore, its outsourcing practices mainly flow out from
limited resources. BTA Bank is a merger of two banks Turanbank and AlemBank. This merger forced
newly formed bank to outsource processing center AlemCard LLP, because developing and maintaining
192 Gulzhanat Tayauova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 41 ( 2012 ) 188 – 195
processing system by its own forces is very expensive for BTA Bank. And, Halyk Bank mostly operates
with governmental institutions and the number of its clients is incomparably higher. Therefore, Halyk
Bank is forced to seek outsourcing of third-party service providers to guarantee continuous improvement
in performance for its clients.
According to analyses of outsourcing size and types, outsourcing practices in BTA Bank and Halyk
Bank have similarities. Both banks are experiencing an outsourcing function of payment cards
processing” which is actually one of the most expensive functions among the banking operations, and
therefore it requires long-term (8-12 years) and stable relationship between bank and outsourcer. Both
BTA Bank and Halyk Bank are outsourcing “most processes” and “mostly satisfied” which can be proved
by the specification of outsourced function and with the fact that payment cards processing cannot be
delegated partly. Further, analyses reveal that both BTA Bank and Halyk Bank are practicing “internal
outsourcing”. The reason for this is the fact that the level of control over performance of processing
centers directly influences performance of the bank in whole. On the other hand, the level of control over
outsourced party by HSBC Bank is “low” and type of outsourcing can be counted as external. The
reason for this is that duration of outsourcing relationships has short-term character (1-3 years) and only
several finance and banking processes outsourced”. And the reason why HSBC Bank is using “partial
outsourcing” seems rational due to the size of outsourced functions. In case when only several processes
outsourced and they do not need high level of control over performance, full outsourcing with separating
whole business process with reallocation of risks and responsibilities is not possible. But it does not mean
that the type defined by reallocation of risks and responsibilities depends on the level of control over
performance. For example, both BTA Bank and Halyk Bank experience “internal outsourcing” whereas
the types of outsourcing by reallocation of risks and responsibilities were different (partial or full).
Table 1 shows advantages of outsourcing. Main advantages of outsourcing as were discussed
previously are the possibility to focus on core activities, cost savings, access to experience, performance
improvement, and flexibility.
Table 1 Advantages of Outsourcing
Bank name
Advantages of Outsourcing
HSBC Bank
BTA Bank
Halyk Bank
Focus on core activities
Partially achieved
Mostly achieved
Moderately achieved
Cost savings
Partially achieved
Mostly achieved
Fully achieved
Access to experience
Moderately achieved
Partially achieved
Not achieved
Performance improvement
Moderately achieved
Mostly achieved
Partially achieved
Flexibility
Mostly achieved
Mostly achieved
Partially achieved
Results show that HSBC Bank Kazakhstan focus on core activities “achieved partially”. This result
can flow out from the point that outsourcing practices give more possibility to focus on core activities,
when function delegated to the outsourcer on long-term partnership characteristic, which makes
relationship trusted, while short-term partnership requires more coordination from client and gives less
possibility to concentrate resources on those activities that are more valuable for organization. On the
other side, there is difference in answers of BTA Bank and Halyk Bank, in spite of the fact that both of
them outsourcing in long-term bases. This can be caused by differences in types of outsourcing by
reallocation of risks and responsibilities. As a result of full delegation of risks and responsibilities to the
outsourced processing center, BTA Bank has an opportunity to focus more on its other core activities,
while for Halyk Bank this advantage achieves less. Concerning the advantage with cost savings, the
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highest level of achievement belongs to Halyk Bank. This can be caused by the size of bank, as such big
organization like Halyk Bank reduces costs by outsourcing more, and expenses related to outsourcing
activity are negligible for it. On the other side, for smaller banks like BTA Bank and HSBC Bank cost
savings cannot be fully achieved or only partially achieved, because other costs can become significant.
Achievement of access to experience of outsourced party is directly depends on the character of
partnership between client and outsourcer. Halyk Bank does not achieve this advantage due to the
character of relationship between bank and its outsourcer. Access to experience of outsourced party was
not of high priority goal for Halyk Bank, whereas, outsourcing gives the opportunity to have an access to
experience of outsourcer and to perform separate functions outsourced before on its own in future to
HSBC Bank. Further, for BTA Bank outsourcing gives the possibility to continuously “improve
performance”. This depends on policy of bank that tries to make financial transactions faster by
improving processing systems, where performance of outsourced company plays the key role. Lower
level of achievement of performance improvement is shown by HSBC Bank, whereas Halyk Bank
“partially achieves”, because from the words of respondent outsourcing activity of bank does not
significantly influence its performance level due to size of bank. Additionally, outsourcing can give the
opportunity to company to be flexible in operations performed. While for in-house departments it is
difficult to adapt to frequently changing environment, it is easier for outsourcing company due to its
specialization and expertise. As seen from the table, this advantage has been achieved by BTA Bank and
HSBC Bank. For these banks, operation flexibility gained by quick reaction of outsourced processing
center on changes in rules set by government and other external factors. However, for big company like
Halyk Bank outsourcing activities cannot give high level of flexibility, because there are many levels in
managerial structure of company due to its size which in turn is an obstacle for being flexible.
Table 2 shows results concerning disadvantages of outsourcing stated as loss of managerial control,
threat to security and confidentiality, quality problems, hidden costs, and reallocation of existing teams.
Table 2 Disadvantages of outsourcing
Bank name
Disadvantages of Outsourcing
HSBC Bank
BTA Bank
Halyk Bank
Loss of managerial control
Sometimes
Sometimes
Never
Threat to security and confidentiality
Sometimes
Sometimes
Never
Quality problems
Often
Sometimes
Often
Hidden costs
Often
Often
Sometimes
Reallocation of existing teams
Often
Never
Never
As seen from the table, loss of managerial control takes place at HSBC Bank and BTA Bank.
Disadvantage for HSBC Bank is related to the activities outsourced, particularly sales team of other
banks. Bank can produce good product, for example credit which will have commission for credit
organization lower than on the market, or even if commission is high, it is attractive because terms are
longer or rates are lower. But when this good product comes to outsourced sales team, as a result of bad
expertise of certain employee, potential client can be lost, so this kind of situations cannot be properly
managed. From the other side, Halyk Bank fully avoids this disadvantage because of external and partial
characteristics of outsourcing project. Character of work of financial organizations, especially banks that
operate with significant amount of confidential information every day, forces to keep information security
on the high level. But sometimes outsourcing activity of such organizations can cause problems related to
the threat to security and confidentiality. This disadvantage is sometimes faced by HSBC Bank and BTA
Bank. According to the respondents, it can appear in every organization, but its possibility raises when
194 Gulzhanat Tayauova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 41 ( 2012 ) 188 – 195
functions with corresponding information delegated to external service provider. Further, it was discussed
that companies in many cases decide to outsource certain functions in order to achieve improvement in
performance. However, sometimes outsourcing can lead to quality problems. Accordingly, BTA Bank is
more satisfied with work of its outsourcer in comparing with other banks. But for HSBC Bank, dishonest
work of outsourcer often causes quality problems. For example, notary without seeing original document
can notarize its copies. If a problem arises and bank addresses to the court, it will be realized that
documents were falsified. This will be counted as a fault of bank. The same situation can appear with
appraisals. In some cases, bank’s potential or current client can give bribe and appraisal evaluates his or
her property at a higher price. Such issues can cause problems related to quality, and is the main threat for
the reputation of a company. Additionally, hidden costs are faced often by HSBC Bank Kazakhstan. For
those activities which cannot be operated by its own according to legislation, bank hires in-house
employees that coordinates and controls the activity of outsourced companies. From the point of BTA
Bank, hidden costs appear due to the continuous improvement characteristic of processing. Expenses
increase because of the flexibility of outsourced functions. When company decides to outsource activity
that previously was in-house, it should also decide what to do with its existing teams. This issue can
affect negatively current employees of a company. Due to the long-term partnership of BTA Bank and
Halyk Bank with their outsourcers, there are no such problems faced by these banks. On the other hand
HSBC Bank often experiences such disadvantage and need to find optimal decision for avoiding it.
5. Conclusion
Outsourcing became one of the most widely used contemporary business practices. However, it has
both advantages and disadvantages. While character of work in which company operates and aims that it
sets changes, outsourcing can also change and bring benefits or risks to client company. From our
analyses, it is obvious that outsourcing practices are not similar for all companies, as this particular
activity was considered in financial industry. Several results can be taken from this work. If a company is
small and has limited resources, then it needs to outsource. However, outsourcing practices cannot always
ensure such common advantage as cost reduction as it was observed in HSBC Bank Kazakhstan. On the
other hand, Halyk Bank claims that it fully reached cost savings and mostly achieved focus on core
activities advantage of outsourcing. Additionally, Halyk Bank keeps outsourcing with high level of
control over its performance and does not fully reallocate risks and responsibilities. This issue was
particularly considered by resource-based theory, which states that internal resources of company plays
key role in creating successful competitive advantage. And, disadvantage related to hidden costs can also
find its theoretical background in transaction costs theory. In fact, while company makes its main activity
by outsourcing, there will be many hidden costs that can negatively influence company’s performance.
Moreover, BTA Bank underlined achievement of focus on core activities and reached to this advantage
due to the internal and full type of outsourcing. Here, we can see the consistence of outsourcing practice
with core competency theory. Additionally, recommendation for businesses can be done on the bases of
banks that were analyzed in this work. For example, banks with long-term and trusted relationships like
BTA Bank and Halyk Bank are advantageous in comparison with HSBC Bank Kazakhstan. On the other
hand, sizes of these banks are incomparable too. Also, it should be mentioned that for outsourcing with
short-term characteristic like in HSBC Bank Kazakhstan, advantage like flexibility is easier to be
achieved. Anyway, outsourcing as in any other business practices should be applied carefully in order to
achieve its advantages and avoid disadvantages. There is a gap in outsourcing practices of banks and
generally all other organizations in Kazakhstan. Although study and practice of outsourcing are very
popular among today’s businesses, because of the lack of knowledge about outsourcing, particularly in
Kazakhstan, this issue has not been analyzed broadly yet. Therefore, it can be developed further in order
to provide with new and deeper results.
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... The ex-post cost includes the costs for (1) increasing input, (2) evaluating output and (3) monitoring and enforcement (Williamson, 1985). Therefore, any transaction by a firm must consider the costs associated with it and should go beyond the availability of resources as propounded by the RBV (Tayauova, 2012). For an external service provider to supply FM services to hotels, several activities must take place to select and award the contract and these constitute transactions. ...
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Purpose The study aims to assess the sourcing approaches used in providing facilities management (FM) services in hotels. It further explores the factors that influence hotels' choice of sourcing approach and the challenges. Design/methodology/approach The study used a case study design. Simple random, census and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the hotels and respondents. Data were collected using interviews and analysed thematically. The data were presented in narration and direct quotes from the respondents. The critical factors influencing outsourcing decisions were ranked using the relative importance index. This study is based on a single case. Therefore, further research should be conducted to expand the scope of study nationwide as a step toward making the results more robust. Findings Both in-house and outsourcing sourcing approaches were used to provide FM services. In-house FM services mainly focused on cleaning, security and aspects of maintenance. Internet and information technology related services and other maintenance activities were also outsourced. Outsourcing decisions in the various hotel categories were mostly guided by the cost of outsourcing, core business, lack of in-house skills and hotel size. Practical implications FM strategy can be developed to guide the management of FM activities in hotels. An approach that adds value and enhances the activities of hotels and provides convenience to customers must be adopted by hotels. Further studies should be conducted on the cost implications of the two main sourcing approaches, as well as the impact of sourcing approaches on customer satisfaction. An additional study should focus on the driving factors influencing the cost and quality of outsourced FM services in hotels. This will help provide comprehensive information on effective FM sourcing approaches and the operations of hotels. Originality/value The study focused on the sourcing approaches used by hotels to provide FM services. It also explored the influencing factors and challenges of FM practices in hotels.
... Developing the operating system and equipment is considered the essential aspect of outsourcing catering systems that operate to establish all service equipment from inside the kitchen or serving. This is clearly illustrated by the case study of the topic of discussion by importing high-sum money trolleys equipped from abroad to maintain food quality for extended periods (Tayauova, 2012). Customer satisfaction, customer retention, and service guarantees (and financial performance) have become essential research topics (Züger & Hofer, 2015). ...
... The statistical results of chi-square measure whether there is a relationship between the factor facilities. (ready kitchen tools and types of equipment) Furthermore, catering systems showed this through the degree of significance (.415) greater than (.05). Confirming that there are no impact relations between the two variables, which agrees with both (Welch & Mitchell, 2000), (Edwards & Hartwell, 2006), (Assaf et al., 2008), (Tayauova, 2012), (Züger & Hofer, 2015), (ElMitainy & El-Haggar, 2019). H5: the relationship between quality of service and catering systems. ...
Article
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This study aims to assess the factors influence hospitals for choosing the most appropriate catering systems. This can be resulting in the selection of the best systems for each hospital and, as a consequence, a better food service. The current study adopted the quantitative method by using the electronic questionnaire to collect data to test the study hypotheses. So the questionnaire was conducted on twelve private hospitals in Cairo divided equally between the largest hospitals operating with the in-sourcing Catering and out-sourcing Catering, and151 forms were included in this study. The findings exposed that a significant positive association between the catering service scope of work, the price factor, the labour cost and catering systems. Additionally, there is a significant negative statistical relationship between service quality, patient satisfaction, facilities, and catering systems.
... Jennings, 2002Brown,2010;Susomrith & Brown, 2013 Negative impact on outsourced employees Esen, 2004;Story, 2000 Risk avoidance Lee et al. 2003;Esen, 2004;Thibodeau, 2003 Negative impact on in-house employees Esen, 2004 Focus on core Hesketh, 2006;Seth and Sethi, 2011;Reilly and Tampkin, 1996;Goldsmith, 2003. Lee et al.2003Thibodeau,2003;Esen,2004;Tayauova, 2012. Roberts, 2001McIvor, 2008;Lee & Kim, 2010;Susomrith & Brown, 2013 Negative impact on customers due to poor quality of work Smith, et al. 2006;Esen,2004;Roberts, 2001; Human resource outsourcing practice not only saves time and money of the organization, but also restricts human resource job opportunities in future. ...
Thesis
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In the present business world, one of the trendy business words is ‘outsourcing’, which means using another source beyond the organization to complete various functions. Outsourcing has many branches: Information Technology (IT), Human Resource Management (HRM), Audit, Logistics, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) etc. This thesis focused on the contribution of Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) to Bangladesh business world. Generally, HRO means outsourcing of HR activities, like- recruitment, training, performance evaluation etc. on behalf of its clients with the intention to save time and avoid other hassles and focuses more on core activities. In spite of the fact that significance of HRO is expanding day by day in the nation, still many organizations are bearing misconception with outsourcing and unconscious of the issue. Moreover, academicians are not giving significance on this zone of HRM for their exploration. This is one of the reasons for undertaking the research. The research attempted to examine every single part of HRO practice in Bangladesh and discover its effect on organizational performance as well. HRO in Bangladesh is still at the starting stage. Many outsourcing firms are entering in the business. However, there was no registered list of authorized service providers in the country. Online portals were the most important source to reach HRO vendors. The research used mixed method of study: both qualitative and quantitative analyses to ensure more validity of the study. As a part of triangulation, qualitative part was verified with the quantitative information in this research. In the qualitative part, in-depth method was used to interview the Human Resource (HR) head and senior HR managers using unstructured questionnaire. For quantitative analysis, purposive sampling was used to interview supervisors, team leaders, or managers with the help of Google form. The focus of qualitative part was to explore the current situation of HRO in Bangladesh (BD). Besides measuring the organizational performance based on HRO practice in the country, other important issues like, nature of service takers, nature of service providers, motivation for utilizing HRO, challenges of HRO etc. were also explored to bring out the full picture of HRO in the country through the in-depth study. To measure the organization's performance based on the qualitative discussion of HR professionals, some assumptions were developed on (a) organizational growth, (b) time and cost-effectiveness, (c) adverse effect on employees, and (d) customers’ perspective. In the quantitative dimension, those assumptions were measured using correlation and regression models. Though, qualitative part showed good relationship between dependent and all independent variables; but from the quantitative analysis only one independent variable ‘time and cost effectiveness’ showed significant positive relationship with dependent variable ‘organizational performance’. As there was insufficient information regarding HRO in the country, in-depth interview was very helpful. Once the good number of information was collected through in-depth study, interview using Likert scale was appropriate to justify the same situation from another point of view. As qualitative study was uncomfortable and more time consuming than other methods, like questionnaire using Likert scale, and as there were chances of non-focus of some important areas; using mixed method for this investigation was much legitimized. In Bangladesh, the absence of scholarly research in this field and lack of quantitative examination on it have had an incredible effect on future analysts. The investigators can pick another piece of HRO for research or can accomplish progressively broad examinations on this theme. For the policymakers, this exploration was an achievement. Policymakers can use these findings as a guideline for future policies. Again, vendors can use this paper to make their service more customer-oriented, as the paper also describes the inadequacy of HRO services in the country.
... Outsourcing is a controversial topic. There are many interesting works that discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing in the public sector under different circumstances such as those carried out by Tayauova, Lobao et al., Aswini, Sánchez, Rizwan and Bhatti, Johansson and Siverbo, and Andersson et al. in [76,[81][82][83]86,88] or [80], respectively, among others. Although this debate is outside the scope of our study, we mention them here to highlight the significance of the outsourcing approach for public sector entities. ...
Article
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Public sector organizations are facing an escalating challenge with the increasing volume and complexity of cyberattacks, which disrupt essential public services and jeopardize citizen data and privacy. Effective cybersecurity management has become an urgent necessity. To combat these threats comprehensively, the active involvement of all functional areas is crucial, necessitating a heightened holistic cybersecurity awareness among tactical and operational teams responsible for implementing security measures. Public entities face various challenges in maintaining this awareness, including difficulties in building a skilled cybersecurity workforce, coordinating mixed internal and external teams, and adapting to the outsourcing trend, which includes cybersecurity operations centers (CyberSOCs). Our research began with an extensive literature analysis to expand our insights derived from previous works, followed by a Spanish case study in collaboration with a digitization-focused public organization. The study revealed common features shared by public organizations globally. Collaborating with this public entity, we developed strategies tailored to its characteristics and transferrable to other public organizations. As a result, we propose the “Wide-Scope CyberSOC” as an innovative outsourced solution to enhance holistic awareness among the cross-functional cybersecurity team and facilitate comprehensive cybersecurity adoption within public organizations. We have also documented essential requirements for public entities when contracting Wide-Scope CyberSOC services to ensure alignment with their specific needs, accompanied by a management framework for seamless operation.
... Brookes, Haines and Wachira (2016) define it as the moving of an organizations, responsibilities, decisions and internal activities to outside provider. It is the delegation of operations or/and jobs to a third party who can do it better, faster and cheaper (Tayauova 2012). Padron-Robaina and Rodriguez (2006) term it as the strategic decision that involves external contracting of business processes necessary for the manufacture of goods and services guided by agreements or contracts with higher capability firms to undertake those activities with the aim of improving competitive advantage. ...
Article
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This study investigated the relationship postponement and supply chain resilience of courier firms in Rivers States. The objectives of the study is to ascertain the extent to which Postponement relate with supply chain resilience of courier firms in Rivers States as well as the extent to which organisational culture moderates the relationship between the variables. The population of the study is 29 courier firms in Rivers State. Three (3) managers-General manager, administrative manager and logistics manager are respondents from each of 29 courier firms totaling 87 respondents that will provide primary data that will be used to ascertain the relationship between the variables. The primary data will be collected through a questionnaire that is designed in Likert scale of very high extent to very low extent. 7 research hypotheses will be tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences 22.0 to establish the relationships between the variables. Results of the test showed that postponement, has significant and positive relationships with flexibility, and Agility-the measures of supply chain resilience. Therefore, the study concluded that that postponement positively relates with supply chain resilience of courier firms Rivers State. Therefore, the study recommended that management of Courier firms should develop their postponement to improve their supply chain resilience. Introduction The courier industry in the 21st century is fiercely competitive, and successfully starting, sustaining, and expanding a courier service in today's fast-paced corporate climate is challenging. Bola-Balogun, Mba, and Omoniyi (2021) define courier organizations as companies that provide time-sensitive and secure door-to-door services, including the delivery of papers, parcels, items,
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يهدف المقال إلى توضيح أهمية التعهيد في بناء الشراكات الإستراتيجية مع بيان التجربة الهندية في ذلك
Article
Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore user satisfaction with in-house facility management (FM) services in multi-tenanted office buildings in Accra, Ghana using a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) approach. Design/methodology/approach The study assessed user satisfaction with FM service quality by using a POE of their perceptions about the attitude and courtesy of the FM personnel, the reliability of the FM services they provide, the responsiveness and the competence of the service providers. The study used walk-throughs and questionnaire surveys as the POE methods. One hundred and twenty-one users from 22 multi-tenanted office buildings, who have actively used the FM services for at least a year, were purposively sampled. The data was collected via a survey using a structured questionnaire. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis in version 25 of statistical package for the social sciences. Findings The study revealed that users were dissatisfied with the quality of in-house FM services across all 15 services The results also showed that users’ satisfaction with the services is not affected by the differences in their age, gender, educational level, job role and number of years in the buildings. The results further demonstrated that the most critical factors that resulted in users’ dissatisfaction were electric facilities, building fabric maintenance, emergency coordination, waste management and the decoration of the buildings during festive seasons. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study based on POE to assess user satisfaction with FM services for multi-tenant office buildings has, presumably, not been tackled before in Ghana. The results of the study are very essential to the owners of the buildings and facility managers in decision-making concerning the delivery of FM services. Building industry-wise, the results demonstrate the need for in-house FM managers in multi-tenanted office buildings in Ghana to adopt FM service delivery methods that increase user satisfaction. The results also call for further research into user satisfaction with outsourced FM services in multi-tenanted office buildings and further research on the use of the in-house strategy on other types of buildings to ascertain whether the dissatisfaction with FM is due to other factors such as the choice of FM strategy, the property type etc.
Book
The textbook contains a theoretical generalization of the directions of outsourcing and outstaffing development as technologies of modern management. The conceptual apparatus of outsourcing and outstaffing, the essence of individual forms and types of outsourcing, the content and main stages of the implementation of an outsourcing project are considered. The spheres of application of outsourcing and outstaffing in the management of the organization are defined, the features of knowledge outsourcing are highlighted. Practical examples are given and trends in the development of the outsourcing and outstaffing services market in Russia and abroad are identified. Meets the requirements of the federal state educational standards of higher education of the latest generation. For students studying in the direction of training 38.03.02 "Management", undergraduates and postgraduates, teachers and researchers of educational institutions of higher education, as well as students of the system of additional professional education, managers of various levels of management, specialists in management consulting.
Article
IT-services outsourcing from Sweden to India has increased in the last few years and it is often regarded as a strategic measure to handle the increasing costs of IT-related development and maintenance operations. There are a number of advantages of outsourcing however, there are many challenges that outsourcing initiatives face. One of the challenges mentioned by many researchers is the cultural differences between the Swedish culture and the Indian culture. At the same time there is not enough research done about these cultural differences in the context of IT-services outsourcing from Sweden to India. It creates difficulties for the partners involved in an IT services outsourcing initiative to achieve the desired results. In this work we have researched these problems by sending questionnaire to IT-outsourcing companies in Sweden. The questionnaire was prepared after a thorough literature review. The participants were asked if they are still facing the problems identified in the literature review and to also mention any other cultural problems faced by them. The questionnaires were analysed and the results obtained are presented in this work. The results show that the practitioners were still facing the problems. This thesis identifies the root causes, the negative effects and also suggests ways for handling the problems. This research will help the IT-services outsourcing practitioners to manage these problems for achieving better result.
Article
Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management, Business School, Birmingham City University • Covers all the core topics of Strategic Management in 12 manageable chapters, fitting perfectly with 1-semester modules, and including separate chapters on current issues such as Corporate Governance and Globalization. • The emphasis is on strategic analysis throughout -focussing on the fundamental analytical tools required by future managers to assess their organisations in their competitive environment, thus preparing students for dealing with strategic management in practice. • Packed with real life examples to illustrate the core concepts, students will more readily understand the theory behind strategic management. Understanding Strategic Management is the perfect introduction to this subject. It explains, analyses, and evaluates important strategic concepts within 12 concise chapters. It's packed with real life examples, including fascinating case studies on companies such as Apple, Tesco, Gillette, and Virgin. Through this approach, Understanding Strategic Management helps readers new to strategy to see how theoretical concepts are actually applied in the real world of business. This very readable book will take students through all the key stages of strategic management: analysis, formulation, and implementation. Classic subjects such as industry analysis and strategic leadership are thoroughly investigated, alongside contemporary issues such as corporate governance and globalization. Concepts, models, and frameworks are rigorously evaluated, encouraging readers to think critically, and to appreciate the different perspectives in the field. The emphasis of the book is on helping students gain the tools of analysis essential for understanding the competitive and internal environments that organisations face.
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This book discusses the development of a theory on the growth of the firm. It is shown that the resources with which a particular firm is accustomed to working will shape the productive services its management is capable of rendering. The experience of management will affect the productive services that all its other resources are capable of rendering. As management tries to make the best use of the resources available, a ‘dynamic’ interacting process occurs which encourages growth but limits the rate of growth.