Quo vadis outsourcing? A view from practice
Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing
ISSN: 2398-5364
Article publication date: 20 February 2017
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to derive a prioritized list of the present and future topics that sourcing managers in large companies are mostly concerned with using a rigorous methodological approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The Delphi method was chosen to derive the list. An initial list of topics was compiled based on a literature review combined with the results of an expert panel. This input was prioritized and extended by sourcing managers over three iterations.
Findings
The findings indicate that outsourcing remains a hot topic, even after almost 25 years of academic research. The authors identified four clusters where outsourcing scholars who are interested to provide insights and guidance for practitioners should focus their attention: managerial decisions (selection of the right partner and ability of the company to outsource parts of their business), managing the service provider (governance issues and relationship management and alignment), managerial responsibilities (integrated risk management and adherence to regulation and compliance) and increased flexibility (cloud computing and multi-vendor arrangements).
Research limitations/implications
The findings are only directly transferrable to large companies using experienced sourcing managers in Germany.
Originality/value
The findings may serve as input in formulating a research agenda which helps to align scholars’ focus and practitioners’ problems.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research would not have been possible without the continuous support of the practitioners in the field. The authors are grateful for everyone who found time in their busy schedule to help the authors conduct this research through all three iterations.
Citation
Gewald, H. and Schäfer, L. (2017), "Quo vadis outsourcing? A view from practice", Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 2-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGOSS-10-2016-0031
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited