Title: Factors affecting suppliers' capacity in outsourcing: a study of the Water and Wastewater Company of Iran

Authors: Hadi Sarvari; Masoud Raeisi Dehkordi; Daniel W.M. Chan; Matteo Cristofaro; Nerija Banaitienė

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Isfahan, Iran ' Department of Civil Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Isfahan, Iran ' Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong ' Department of Management and Law, Università degli Studi di Roma "Tor Vergata", Roma, Italy ' Department of Construction Management and Real Estate, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Sauletekio, Vilnius, Lithuania

Abstract: What are the major factors able to increase the capacity of suppliers in outsourcing processes? To answer this research question, a three-round Delphi survey was administered to an expert panel composed of 50 industrial experts of the Water and Wastewater Company (WWC) in Iran. The administered questionnaire - based on 50 items categorised into four groups: judicial-legal, contract, management and financial - was developed based on prior literature and experts' answers. Respondents have been asked to evaluate each item with regard to the capacity of suppliers in outsourcing processes on a five-point Likert scale. Factor analysis, one-sample t-test and the Friedman test were used for data analysis. Results show that the factor categories able to increase the capacity of suppliers in outsourcing processes at WWC are the following, in order of importance: financial, judicial-legal, contracts and management. The findings help to focus on shortcomings and deficiencies of current outsourcing processes.

Keywords: water industry; wastewater industry; outsourcing; Delphi; supplier capacity; Iran.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOR.2023.131491

International Journal of Operational Research, 2023 Vol.47 No.2, pp.173 - 201

Received: 26 Mar 2020
Accepted: 03 Oct 2020
Published online: 15 Jun 2023 *

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