IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/globus/v19y2018i1p21-31.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Outsource Services to Improve Financial Performance: Is There a Limit?

Author

Listed:
  • Carlos Sanchís-Pedregosa
  • María-del-Mar Gonzalez-Zamora
  • María-José Palacín-Sánchez

Abstract

Outsourcing has been identified as one of the key factors for improving companies’ financial performance. Moreover, the procurement of business services has become an important element of companies’ acquisition of external resources. However, there is a lack of evidence linking services outsourcing and performance. Limited prior literature has mostly assumed that this relationship is positive and linear. Our empirical study reveals that firms may be able to increase their performance through services outsourcing; however, this is only true up to a point, beyond which the performance decreases as a consequence of further outsourcing. Identifying the type of relationship between the variables under study is a key point to company managers formulating their service outsourcing strategies. They must be aware that there is a level of outsourcing that should not be exceeded. Future research should help managers to determine which is the most effective level of service outsourcing for their companies.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlos Sanchís-Pedregosa & María-del-Mar Gonzalez-Zamora & María-José Palacín-Sánchez, 2018. "Outsource Services to Improve Financial Performance: Is There a Limit?," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 19(1), pages 21-31, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:globus:v:19:y:2018:i:1:p:21-31
    DOI: 10.1177/0972150917713274
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0972150917713274
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0972150917713274?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Green, Francis, 2013. "Skills and Skilled Work: An Economic and Social Analysis," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199642854.
    2. Matilda Alexandrova, 2015. "Risk Factors in IT Outsourcing Partnerships: Vendors’ Perspective," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 16(5), pages 747-759, October.
    3. David J Teece, 2008. "Capturing Value from Technological Innovation: Integration, Strategic Partnering, and Licensing Decisions," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Technological Know-How, Organizational Capabilities, And Strategic Management Business Strategy and Enterprise Development in Competitive Environments, chapter 12, pages 237-252, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Varadarajan, Rajan, 2009. "Outsourcing: Think more expansively," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(11), pages 1165-1172, November.
    5. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    6. Butler, Maureen G. & Callahan, Carolyn M., 2014. "Human resource outsourcing: Market and operating performance effects of administrative HR functions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 218-224.
    7. Holger Görg & Aoife Hanley, 2004. "Does Outsourcing Increase Profitability?," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 35(3), pages 267-288.
    8. Bernd Görzig & Andreas Stephan, 2002. "Outsourcing and Firm-level Performance," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 309, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Butler, Maureen G. & Callahan, Carolyn M., 2014. "Human resource outsourcing: Market and operating performance effects of administrative HR functions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 218-224.
    2. Dermot Leahy & Catia Montagna, 2011. "Economising, Strategising and the Decision to Outsource," Discussion Papers 11/17, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    3. Lars Calmfors & Giancarlo Corsetti & Michael P. Devereux & Gilles Saint-Paul & Hans-Werner Sinn & Jan-Egbert Sturm & Xavier Vives, 2008. "Chapter 3: The effect of globalisation on Western European jobs: curse or blessing?," EEAG Report on the European Economy, CESifo, vol. 0, pages 71-104, February.
    4. Worm, Stefan & Srivastava, Rajendra K., 2014. "Impact of component supplier branding on profitability," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 409-424.
    5. Linares Navarro, E. & Pla Barber, J. & Puig Blanco, F, 2009. "La Estrategia De Outsourcing Internacional En España: Una Aproximación A Los Sectores Manufactureros Tradicionales / The Strategy Of International Outsourcing In Spain: An Approximation To The Traditi," Investigaciones Europeas de Dirección y Economía de la Empresa (IEDEE), Academia Europea de Dirección y Economía de la Empresa (AEDEM), vol. 15(3), pages 55-67.
    6. Hanan Morsy & Adamon N. Mukasa, 2019. "Working Paper 326 - Youth Jobs, Skill and Educational Mismatches in Africa," Working Paper Series 2452, African Development Bank.
    7. Dermot Leahy & Catia Montagna, 2006. "'Make-or-Buy' in International Oligopoly and the Role of Competitive Pressure," Dundee Discussion Papers in Economics 197, Economic Studies, University of Dundee.
    8. Roberto Antonietti & Giulio Cainelli, 2008. "Production Outsourcing, Organizational Governance and Firm’s Technological Performance: Evidence from Italy," The IUP Journal of Managerial Economics, IUP Publications, vol. 0(1), pages 51-69, February.
    9. William Milberg, 2007. "WP 2007-9 Shifting Sources and Uses of Profits: Sustaining U.S. Financialization with Global Value Chains," SCEPA working paper series. 2007-9, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), The New School.
    10. Ohnemus, Jörg, 2007. "Does IT Outsourcing Increase Firm Success? An Empirical Assessment using Firm-Level Data," ZEW Discussion Papers 07-087, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    11. 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.
    12. Carmen Díaz Mora, "undated". "DETERMINANTS OF OUTSOURCING PRODUCTION: A Dynamic Panel Data Approach for Manufacturing Industries," Working Papers on International Economics and Finance 05-07, FEDEA.
    13. William Milberg, 2007. "WP 2006-5 Pricing and Profits Under Globalized Competition: A Post Keynesian Perspective on U.S. Economic Hegemony," SCEPA working paper series. 2006-5, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), The New School.
    14. Leahy, Dermot & Montagna, Catia, 2012. "Strategic investment and international outsourcing in unionised oligopoly," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 260-269.
    15. Craig P. Aubuchon & Subhayu Bandyopadhyay & Sumon Bhaumik, 2012. "The extent and impact of outsourcing: evidence from Germany," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 94(July), pages 287-304.
    16. Antonietti, Roberto & Cainelli, Giulio, 2007. "Spatial Agglomeration, Technology and Outsourcing of Knowledge Intensive Business Services. Empirical Insights from Italy," Knowledge, Technology, Human Capital Working Papers 8221, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    17. Spyros Arvanitis & Thomas Bolli & Tobias Stucki, 2017. "In or Out: How Insourcing Foreign Input Production Affects Domestic Production," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 57(6), pages 879-907, December.
    18. Sourafel Girma & Holger Görg, 2004. "Outsourcing, Foreign Ownership, and Productivity: Evidence from UK Establishment‐level Data," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(5), pages 817-832, November.
    19. Leahy Dermot & Montagna Catia, 2017. "Economising, Strategising and the Vertical Boundaries of the firm," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 1-35, January.
    20. Morsy, Hanan & Mukasa, Adamon, 2019. "Youth Jobs, Skill and Educational Mismatches in Africa," MPRA Paper 100394, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:globus:v:19:y:2018:i:1:p:21-31. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.imi.edu/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.