Title: Global outsourcing and its impacts on organisations: problems and issues

Authors: Yunus Kathawala, Ren Zhang, Jing Shao

Addresses: School of Business, Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Science, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL 61920, USA. ' Management and Marketing Department, Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, University of Alabama, P.O. Box 870225, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487–0225, USA. ' Technology School, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL 61920, USA

Abstract: In recent years, global outsourcing has received a great deal of attention by both practitioners and academics throughout the world. Globalisation is forcing multinational companies to outsource their products and services in order to reduce cost, enhance the competitive capability, and satisfy shareholders. Before an organisation decides whether to outsource part of its activities from either domestic companies or from other countries, it is crucial to understand the effectiveness of outsourcing in organisational architecture and the global market. This paper mainly focuses on the relationship between global outsourcing and organisational effectiveness, demonstrates the reasons and types of global outsourcing, and explores the impacts of global outsourcing to organisational effectiveness.

Keywords: global outsourcing; organisational effectiveness; nearshore outsourcing; offshore outsourcing; globalisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2005.006496

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2005 Vol.1 No.2, pp.185 - 202

Published online: 14 Mar 2005 *

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