Thesis (doctoral)--European Business School, International University Schloss Reichartshausen, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Firms increasingly disaggregate business processes and source them on a global basis, either intra-firm or from external vendors. This dissertation examines two relevant strategic choices for business process sourcing: the choice of sourcing mechanisms and the choice of contract types. First a comprehensive choice model is proposed to incorporate different perspectives of transaction cost economics (TCE), resource-based view (RBV) and modular systems theory for the choice of sourcing mechanisms. The results indicate that modular design characteristics such as modularity and IT detachability of business processes have significant impact on firms’ sourcing choices. The findings show that at higher level of process modularity, domestic outsourcing is more likely while offshore outsourcing is more preferred at lower level of process modularity. Also domestic outsourcing is preferred over offshore outsourcing when processes are tightly coupled with the IT infrastructure. The results suggest that offshore outsourcing is a different governance mode from domestic outsourcing. It may be a viable choice for firms that are looking for capabilities and adaptation willingness to improve the modular design of a process and to meet firm-specific needs, but the nonmodular design of IT infrastructure may inhibit such attempts. The dissertation then examined how firms select appropriate types of contract once outsourcing decisions are made. Three types of contracts were considered: Fixedprice (FP), Cost-plus (CP) and Time & Materials (T&M), which provide different levels of cost-reduction incentive, completeness of contract design and flexibility to change. The findings suggest that business characteristics impact coordination and negotiation costs and thus the choice of contract types. Higher coordination costs (the costs of managing interdependence) lead to higher probability of selecting contracts with high incentives and detailed service descriptions such as FP contracts while high negotiation costs (the costs of opportunistic behavior in ex post adaptation) increase firms’ preference to contracts with more flexibility to change such as T&M contracts. Further, the selection bias of the choice of sourcing mechanism on the choice of contract types was identified. Firms that select outsourcing are more likely to adopt contracts with high level of incentive and contract completeness. / text

This dissertation consists of two independent studies. The first study belongs to the field of environmental economics and the second is on international trade, with a focus on offshoring. In the first study, we investigate firm investment in advanced abatement technology under a heterogeneous firms framework. In contrast to existing literature, we find that the optimal level of investment in advanced abatement technology is an inverted U-shaped function of firm productivity. More-productive firms have superior environmental performance, in the sense that they have lower emission per unit of output. Comparative statics shows that in response to a tighter environmental regulation, more-productive firms tend to raise their investment in advanced abatement technology while less-productive firms do the opposite. Key theoretical predictions are confirmed by Chinese data. The second study analyzes the decision of a multinational firm from a developed country to slice a production chain to allocate different tasks of the production chain globally. The process involves a wide range of tasks that varies from very routine jobs to very research and development (R&D) intensive work. We find that under certain conditions, a drop in offshoring costs (1) leads to more slicing (an increase in the length of production chain) and more offshoring, (2) stimulates R&D, and (3) raises employment in the developed country. / published_or_final_version / Economics and Finance / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-92).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 13, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 218-236).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation Universität ERlangen-Nürnberg 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [267]-299).

Diss.-- ESCP-EAP Europäische Wirtschaftshochscule, 2008. / Inlcudes bibliographical references and index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2010. / "Graduate Program in Management." Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-187).

Dagens allt mer globaliserade värld kräver enkla medel som genererar ekonomisk lönsamhet. Den ökade globaliseringen med de nuvarande kommunikationsmöjligheterna främjar verksamheter till att förflytta produktionen till andra destinationer, för att uppnå konkurrensnivå och erhålla billigare driftkostnader. Offshore outsourcing innebär förflyttning av produktion till från intern provision till en extern enhet som är specialiserad inom styrande och utförande av denna aktivitet. Verksamheter som instiftar offshore outsourcing överlämnar icke- och kärnprocesser till externa parter, som utför samma arbete som den interna verksamheten men för en lägre kostnad. I litteraturen framkommer det att offshore outsourcing genererar minskade kostnader, ökad flexibilitet, ett ökat utnyttjande av teknologi samt tillgången till expertis. Offshoring innebär förflyttningar av affärsfunktioner över nationsgränserna vilket gör att de kan erhålla reduceringar av kostnader, strategiska resurser och behåller marknadsandelar gentemot konkurrenterna. De drivkrafter som finns till varför organisationer förflyttar sin produktion är på grund av det transanktionskostnadsekonomiska perspektivet som de flesta verksamheter innehar. Transanktionskostnadsperspektiv är ett synsätt som definierar alla aspekter vid införandet av offshore outsourcing och offshoring Syftet är att undersöka motiv till förflyttande av kärn-och icke kärnprocesser och undersöka de negativa effekter som medföljer en sådan organisationsförändring. Undersökningen ska besvara hur motiven och effekterna för offshore outsourcing skiljer sig från offshoring. I ett frågeformulär som har skapats utifrån litteratur gällande offshore outsourcing och offshoring, har två olika verksamheter intervjuats om deras erfarenheter om respektive koncept. Utifrån intervjuerna har det framkommit att det finns likheter och skillnader gentemot litteraturen. Verksamheterna har dock en gemensam faktor till införande av offshore outsourcing och offshoring vilket är kostnadsmotiv. Beslutet bakom om en organisation ska genomföra offshore outsourcing eller offshoring cirkulerar kring ett flertal aspekter som beror på organisationsstruktur och förhållanden. Denna studie ska hjälpa framtida företag och privatpersoner att få en djupare inblick kring de båda begreppen för att förhoppningsvis påverka deras val vid införande av rationella organisationsförändringar. Studien ska dessutom hjälpa nuvarande och framtida studenter som vill fördjupa sig och få en bredare bild kring ämnet. / Today's increasingly globalized world requires simple means to generate economic profitability. The increasing globalization of the current communication possibilities promotes the move of production and activities to other destinations, to achieve a higher level of competition and obtain cheaper operating costs. Offshore outsourcing involves moving production from the internal commission to an external unit specialized in directing and conducting this activity. Activities instituting offshore outsourcing submit core and non-core processes to external parties, who perform the same work as the internal organization but for a lower cost. In the literature, it appears that offshore outsourcing generates lower costs, increased flexibility, increased use of technology and access to expertise. Offshoring involves the movement of business functions across national borders, which means that they can achieve reductions in costs, strategic resources and retain market share against competitors.                                         The driving forces to why organizations move their production is due to the Transaction Cost Perspective that most companies holds. The Transaction Cost Perspective is an approach that defines all aspects of the introduction of offshore outsourcing and offshoring. The aim is to investigate the reasons for the moving the core and non-core processes and analyzing the harmful effects that come with such an organizational change. The study will answer how the motives and effects of offshore outsourcing differ from the motives and effects of offshoring. In a questionnaire that has been created based on the theory of offshore outsourcing and offshoring two different businesses were interviewed about their experiences of each concept. Based on the interviews, it has emerged that there are similarities and differences from the literature. The operations, however, has a common factor in the adoption of offshore outsourcing and offshoring, which are cost advantages. The decision behind why an organization to implement offshore outsourcing or offshoring circulates around a number of aspects, depending on their organizational structure and relations. This study should help future businesses and individuals to get a deeper insight on the two concepts to hopefully influence their choices at the introduction of rational organizational changes.