Global Outsourcing and Offshoring: An Integrated Approach to Theory and Corporate Strategy

Cambridge University Press
Edition: Illustrated, 11/11/2010
EAN 9780521193535, ISBN10: 0521193532

Hardcover, 494 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 3.2 cm
Language: English

Companies are increasingly asking which of their value chain activities are best performed within their own company and which may be outsourced. In addition, they are also considering which pieces of their value chain may be better performed abroad. These interrelated decisions concerning outsourcing and offshoring have not only changed entire industries, they have also transformed the lives of people across the world. Hundreds of millions of jobs in emerging nations have been the direct result of outsourcing and offshoring decisions. At the same time, many people in the developed world have lost their jobs because a company has been able to find a cheaper alternative. Featuring contributions from scholars in eleven different countries, this book was the first to examine the theory and practice of outsourcing and offshoring simultaneously. It includes studies of a variety of different industries, including pharmaceuticals, automobiles, medical records, appliances, human resource management and telecommunications.

List of figures
List of tables
List of contributors
Preface
Part I. Conceptual Frameworks and Theories
1. Global outsourcing and offshoring
in search of the optimal configuration for a company Farok J. Contractor, Vikas Kumar, Torben Pedersen and Sumit Kundu
2. Globalization of R&D
offshoring innovative activity to emerging economies Ashok Bardhan and Dwight Jaffee
3. A theory of the outsourcing firm Dave Luvison and Mike Bendixen
Part II. The Offshoring and Outsourcing of R&D and Innovative Activities
4. Blurring firm R&D boundaries
integrating transaction costs and knowledge-based perspectives Andrea Martinez-Noya and Esteban Garcia-Canal
5. Outsourcing, fragmentation and integration
the pharmaceutical industry Janis K. Kapler and Kimberly A. Puhala
6. Towards a better understanding of multinational enterprises' R&D location choices Ana Colovic
7. Does R&D offshoring displace or strengthen knowledge production at home? Evidence from OECD countries Lucia Piscitello and Grazia D. Santangelo
8. Innovation across firm boundaries
a knowledge based view Salma Alguezaui and Raffaele Filieri
9. Suitable organization forms for knowledge management at various R&D functions in decentralized and cooperative R&D networks Hsing Hung Chen
Part III. Management Issues in Offshoring and Virtual Teamwork
10. Changing work practices
acceptance of virtual work among knowledge professionals engaged in offshoring activities Elisa Mattarelli and Maria Rita Tagliaventi
11. Managing globally disaggregated teams
the role of organizational politics Shahzad M. Ansari, Jatinder S. Sidhu, Henk W. Volberda and Ilan Oshri
Part IV. Empirical Analyses and Case Studies of Outsourcing and Offshoring
12. Offshoring of high-value functions
a case study of US-India trade in medical transcription services Nir Kshetri and Nikhilesh Dholakia
13. Offshoring of IT and business, professional and technical services
the recent experience of the United States Thomas J. Norman and Mahmood A. Zaidi
14. Outsourcing human resource activities Thomas J. Norman
15. Managing core outsourcing to address fast market growth
a study of an Indian mobile telecom service provider Raghunath Subramanyam
16. Imitative offshoring strategies
lessons learnt from Italian small domestic appliance industry Gabriella Lojacono and Olga Annushkina
Index.

'This is an intriguing book. We have all heard about the rise of offshoring and outsourcing. Here, Contractor, Kumar, Kundu and Pedersen provide detailed and systematic evidence of how pervasive and invasive these trends have become. They also shed light on the consequences of offshoring and outsourcing - for the strategies of multinational corporations, for the policymakers who seek to attract overseas investment, and for our academic theories that seek to understand the nature of foreign investment and the sources of competitive advantage. This book is thoroughly researched and well written. It presents a bold and thought-provoking set of ideas about the future shape and size of the multinational corporation.' Julian Birkinshaw, London Business School