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Modularization, an important trend in innovation markets, allows for recombination of product components into multiple end-product configurations. Although modularization has consequences for how firms manage their relationships with upstream component suppliers, the governance implications of modularity for innovation sourcing relationships have not been adequately examined in the prior literature. We intend to bridge this gap. We argue that (i) buyer firms employ governance mechanisms (monitoring and socialization) to cope with the strategic hazards of innovation sourcing relationships (knowledge specificity, knowledge asymmetry, and knowledge spillover) and (ii) the consequences of deploying these mechanisms in response to the strategic hazards on relationship performance are contingent upon the degree of modularity of the system in which they are deployed. We provide empirical support for the developed moderated mediation model through an analysis of 194 innovation projects. The developed theory and findings contribute to the governance and modularity literatures. In addition, our findings may help change managers' behaviors: we observe that managers do not consider modularity when selecting governance mechanisms, while our model findings suggest they should., Author(s): Nukhet Harmancioglu [sup.1] , Stefan Wuyts [sup.2] , Peren Ozturan [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.15876.3d, 0000000106887552, Koç University, , Istanbul, Turkey (2) grid.29857.31, 0000 0001 2097 4281, Pennsylvania State [...]

We combine new information technology (IT) offshoring and IT workforce microdata to investigate how the use of IT offshore captive centers is affecting the skill composition of the U.S. onshore IT workforce. The analysis is based on the theory that occupations involving tasks that are 'tradable' such as tasks that require little personal communication or hands-on interaction with U.S.-based objects, are vulnerable to being moved offshore. Consistent with this theory, we find that firms that have offshore IT captive centers have 8% less of their onshore IT workforce involved in tradable occupations; those without offshore captive centers have increased the proportion of onshore employment in these same occupations by 3%. In addition, we find that hourly IT workers (e.g., IT contractors) are disproportionately employed in tradable jobs, and their onshore employment is 2%-3% lower in firms with offshore captive centers. These findings persist after considering different measures of employment composition, including controls for human capital, firm performance, domestic outsourcing, and whether firms choose to build or buy software. Instrumental variables and corroborating regressions suggest that our estimates are conservative--the magnitude of the effect generally rises after accounting for reverse causality and measurement error. Key words: information systems; IT policy and management; management of IT human resources; organizational change; outsourcing; offshoring History: Received June 1, 2010; accepted June 3, 2011, by Claris For man, guest department editor, information systems. Published online in Articles in Advance January 26, 2012., 1. Introduction The impact of globalization on information technology (IT) labor markets continues to be an active area of interest for academic researchers. In this paper, we study how offshore [...]

The outsourcing is an important trend, studied by several authors nowadays. This article provides a decision model, exploring multicriteria methods in order to support outsourcing choices. An outsourcing decision problem is modeled and then solved with the use of PROMETHEE (preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluations) method. A numerical application is also presented, and the PROMETHEE method is applied with the support of software. Keywords: Management Science, Outsourcing, Multicriteria Methods, Operations Strategy, Service Operations Management, 1. INTRODUCTION The purchasing activities of a company are a very important part in the overall operation of the company (Araz, 2007). When outsource, companies become more dependent of its [...]

The sourcing of a construction program has always been a fluid process for many construction owners. A construction owner must balance the performance of all construction functions between internal staff and external service providers. Described herein are recent sourcing trends of construction programs identified through a survey of nonresidential construction owners. The survey data is representative of 170 respondents with varying demographic characteristics that account for about $72 billion in annual construction spending. Included are outsourcing trends of specific functions across the construction lifecycle and the sourcing strategy employed for each. A comparison of the outsourcing volume reported and the sourcing strategy employed is presented. A clear relationship between the amount of outsourcing and the sourcing strategy employed for the performance of construction is shown. The paper provides the academic community with new outsourcing data for construction lifecycle functions. It also provides contractors with new information about the current behavior of construction owners while providing owners with a better understanding of the relationship between sourcing and outsourcing. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2008)134:12(1002) CE Database subject headings: Owners; Organizations; Life cycles; Capital improvement; Construction management; Contracting.

Consider a manufacturer with a manufacturing system that consists of multiple processes. The manufacturer's revenue is determined by the minimum of the uptimes among the processes. The maintenance functions of the processes are outsourced to independent contractors so that each contractor is responsible only for one process. A performance-based incentive contract is offered to each contractor, consisting of an uptime target level and a bonus rate for exceeding the uptime target. Under the incentive contract, a contractor receives a bonus only when the achieved uptime exceeds the target level specified in the contract. We develop a model for jointly determining the uptime target levels and bonus rates for the contractors which maximize system profit. We also demonstrate the financial benefits of coordination and added flexibility in allocating the additional profit to the contractors. In addition we show the impact of the variation in individual process maintenance times and costs on channel coordination and profits., 1. Introduction Traditionally, maintenance has been a core in-house activity. However, it is now being viewed by many organizations as a non-core business function, and outsourcing of the maintenance function [...]

Guidelines include ranking processes by value, identifying and managing risk, and selecting the proper organizational form.

The article examines four receptivity factors that influence the success of local government strategies for outsourcing in England. These are leading change, ideological vision, implementation capacity and institutional politics. Implications for level of change are discussed.

Byline: R.M. Ilyas, D.K. Banwet, Ravi Shankar The manufacturing industry is in a state of flux, with an increasing need to be flexible, agile and lean. Organisations are unable to achieve the triple objectives, as the interventions to achieve one contradicts the need of the other. The outsourcing of the segments of chain activities can emerge as a key to achieve the desired flexible, agile and lean chains. The industry has accepted that by outsourcing activities, organisations deliver better value to the customer. This research article studies the characteristics of flexible, agile and lean chains and establishes, by factor analysis, that outsourcing can be an intervention to achieve the triple objectives of flexibility, agility and leanness. It also identifies the variables for effective value chain outsourcing and by using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM), it establishes a relational hierarchy among these variables. This structural analysis draws the interventional roadmap to facilitate value chain outsourcing. This article further explains the application of this process in drawing the outsourcing roadmap of a global petrochemical firm. The article is a blend of theoretical framework and practical application.