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Outsourcing or restructuring: The dynamic choice

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  • Antelo, Manel
  • Bru, Lluis

Abstract

This paper examines the role of outsourcing when a firm attempts to establish its true level of production costs in an uncertain context. Outsourcing may provide additional information to the firm about the efficiency of its organizational structure. The information flow that outsourcing gives to the firm creates a real option by delaying the final decision relating to its definitive organizational mode, so that temporarily outsourcing and then resuming operations may be the optimal management decision for the firm.

Suggested Citation

  • Antelo, Manel & Bru, Lluis, 2010. "Outsourcing or restructuring: The dynamic choice," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(1), pages 1-7, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:123:y:2010:i:1:p:1-7
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    Cited by:

    1. Lewis Evans & Graeme Guthrie & Neil Quigley, 2012. "Contemporary Microeconomic Foundations for the Structure and Management of the Public Sector," Treasury Working Paper Series 12/01, New Zealand Treasury.
    2. Jianxiong Zhang & Lin Feng & Wansheng Tang, 2014. "Optimal Contract Design of Supplier-Led Outsourcing Based on Pontryagin Maximum Principle," Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 592-607, May.
    3. Bustinza, O.F. & Arias-Aranda, D. & Gutierrez-Gutierrez, L., 2010. "Outsourcing, competitive capabilities and performance: an empirical study in service firms," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(2), pages 276-288, August.
    4. Feng, Bo & Fan, Zhi-Ping & Li, Yanzhi, 2011. "A decision method for supplier selection in multi-service outsourcing," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(2), pages 240-250, August.
    5. Kinkel, Steffen & Capestro, Mauro & Di Maria, Eleonora & Bettiol, Marco, 2023. "Artificial intelligence and relocation of production activities: An empirical cross-national study," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    6. Xu, Su Xiu & Lu, Qiang & Huang, George Q. & Zhang, Ting, 2013. "Scope economies, market information, and make-or-buy decision under asymmetric information," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(1), pages 339-348.
    7. Trigeorgis, Lenos & Tsekrekos, Andrianos E., 2018. "Real Options in Operations Research: A Review," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 270(1), pages 1-24.
    8. Henkel, Malin & Boffelli, Albachiara & Olhager, Jan & Kalchschmidt, Matteo, 2022. "A case survey of offshoring–backshoring cases: The influence of contingency factors," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    9. Gao, Yongling & Driouchi, Tarik, 2018. "Accounting for ambiguity and trust in partial outsourcing: A behavioral real options perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 93-104.
    10. Albachiara Boffelli & Malin Johansson, 2020. "What do we want to know about reshoring? Towards a comprehensive framework based on a meta-synthesis," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 53-69, June.

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