IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/14899.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Outsourcing induced by strategic competition

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Yutian
  • Dubey, Pradeep
  • Sen, Debapriya

Abstract

We show that intermediate goods can be sourced to firms on the "outside" (that do not compete in the final product market), even when there are no economies of scale or cost advantages for these firms. What drives the phenomenon is that "inside" firms, by accepting such orders, incur the disadvantage of becoming Stackelberg followers in the ensuing competition to sell the final product. Thus they have incentive to quote high provider prices to ward off future competitors, driving the latter to source outside.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Yutian & Dubey, Pradeep & Sen, Debapriya, 2009. "Outsourcing induced by strategic competition," MPRA Paper 14899, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:14899
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/14899/1/MPRA_paper_14899.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/24108/1/MPRA_paper_24108.pdf
    File Function: revised version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mailath George J., 1993. "Endogenous Sequencing of Firm Decisions," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 169-182, February.
    2. Buehler, Stefan & Haucap, Justus, 2006. "Strategic outsourcing revisited," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 325-338, November.
    3. Oliver Hart & Jean Tirole, 1990. "Vertical Integration and Market Foreclosure," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 21(1990 Micr), pages 205-286.
    4. van Damme, Eric & Hurkens, Sjaak, 1999. "Endogenous Stackelberg Leadership," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 105-129, July.
    5. Vidal, Carlos J. & Goetschalckx, Marc, 1997. "Strategic production-distribution models: A critical review with emphasis on global supply chain models," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 1-18, April.
    6. Dixit, Avinash, 1980. "The Role of Investment in Entry-Deterrence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 90(357), pages 95-106, March.
    7. Chen, Yongmin & Ishikawa, Jota & Yu, Zhihao, 2004. "Trade liberalization and strategic outsourcing," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 419-436, July.
    8. Pio Baake & Jörg Oechssler & Christoph Schenk, 1999. "Explaining cross-supplies," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 70(1), pages 37-60, February.
    9. Chen, Yutian & Dubey, Pradeep & Sen, Debapriya, 2011. "Outsourcing induced by strategic competition," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 484-492, July.
    10. Avner Shaked & John Sutton, 1982. "Relaxing Price Competition Through Product Differentiation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 49(1), pages 3-13.
    11. D. Lee Heavner, 2004. "Vertical Enclosure: Vertical Integration and the Reluctance to Purchase from a Competitor," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 179-199, June.
    12. Ordover, Janusz A & Saloner, Garth & Salop, Steven C, 1990. "Equilibrium Vertical Foreclosure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(1), pages 127-142, March.
    13. Hamilton, Jonathan H. & Slutsky, Steven M., 1990. "Endogenous timing in duopoly games: Stackelberg or cournot equilibria," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 29-46, March.
    14. Anil Arya & Brian Mittendorf & David E. M. Sappington, 2008. "The Make-or-Buy Decision in the Presence of a Rival: Strategic Outsourcing to a Common Supplier," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(10), pages 1747-1758, October.
    15. Rey, Patrick & Tirole, Jean, 2007. "A Primer on Foreclosure," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: Mark Armstrong & Robert Porter (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 33, pages 2145-2220, Elsevier.
    16. Andrea Pierce & Debapriya Sen, 2014. "Outsourcing versus technology transfer: Hotelling meets Stackelberg," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 111(3), pages 263-287, April.
    17. van Damme, Eric & Hurkens, Sjaak, 1999. "Endogenous Stackelberg Leadership," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 105-129, July.
    18. Pol Antras & Elhanan Helpman, 2004. "Global Sourcing," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(3), pages 552-580, June.
    19. Mark Armstrong & Robert Porter (ed.), 2007. "Handbook of Industrial Organization," Handbook of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 3, number 1.
    20. Pal, Debashis, 1996. "Endogenous Stackelberg Equilibria with Identical Firms," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 81-94, January.
    21. Robson, Arthur J, 1990. "Duopoly with Endogenous Strategic Timing: Stackelberg Regained," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 31(2), pages 263-274, May.
    22. repec:hrv:faseco:4784029 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Yutian Chen, 2011. "Strategic sourcing for entry deterrence and tacit collusion," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 102(2), pages 137-156, March.
    24. Shy, Oz & Stenbacka, Rune, 2003. "Strategic outsourcing," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 203-224, February.
    25. Arya, Anil & Mittendorf, Brian & Sappington, David E.M., 2008. "Outsourcing, vertical integration, and price vs. quantity competition," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 1-16, January.
    26. Gene M. Grossman & Elhanan Helpman, 2002. "Integration versus Outsourcing in Industry Equilibrium," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 85-120.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yutian Chen, 2010. "Strategic Outsourcing between Rivals," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 11(2), pages 301-311, November.
    2. Chen, Yutian & Dubey, Pradeep & Sen, Debapriya, 2011. "Outsourcing induced by strategic competition," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 484-492, July.
    3. Tarun Kabiraj & Uday Bhanu Sinha, 2014. "Strategic Outsourcing with Technology Transfer under Cournot Competition," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 34(2), pages 1133-1140.
    4. Yutian Chen, 2011. "Strategic sourcing for entry deterrence and tacit collusion," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 102(2), pages 137-156, March.
    5. Yen-Ju Lin & Yan-Shu Lin & Kuang-I Tu, 2016. "Strategic input outsourcing and equilibrium location choice," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 56(1), pages 83-99, January.
    6. Chrysovalantou Milliou, 2023. "Outsourcing without Cost Advantages," CESifo Working Paper Series 10645, CESifo.
    7. Ki‐Dong Lee & Kangsik Choi & DongJoon Lee, 2020. "Endogenous vertical structure and trade policy in an import‐competing market," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(8), pages 1431-1445, December.
    8. Luciano Fanti & Marcella Scrimitore, 2017. "Hiring a manager or not? When asymmetric equilibria arise under outsourcing to a rival," Discussion Papers 2017/220, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    9. Yutian Chen & Debapriya Sen, 2015. "Strategic Outsourcing Under Economies Of Scale," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 134-145, April.
    10. Andrea Pierce & Debapriya Sen, 2014. "Outsourcing versus technology transfer: Hotelling meets Stackelberg," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 111(3), pages 263-287, April.
    11. Alexei Alexandrov, 2013. "Effects of Joint Outsourcing on Consumer Welfare," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 187-202, July.
    12. Yi-Fan Chen & Alireza Naghavi & Shin-Kun Peng, 2021. "Learning by supplying and competition threat," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 157(1), pages 121-148, February.
    13. Chen Yutian & Sen Debapriya, 2012. "Outsourcing and Downstream R&D under Economies of Scale," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-33, September.
    14. Kabiraj, Tarun & Sinha, Uday Bhanu, 2016. "Strategic outsourcing with technology transfer under price competition," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 281-290.
    15. Colombo, Stefano & Scrimitore, Marcella, 2018. "Managerial delegation under capacity commitment: A tale of two sources," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 149-161.
    16. Yen-Ju Lin & Yan-Shu Lin & Kuang-I Tu, 2016. "Strategic input outsourcing and equilibrium location choice," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 56(1), pages 83-99, January.
    17. Duan, Housheng & Deng, Sijing & Song, Haiqing & Xu, Jiayan, 2021. "The impacts of sales efforts and mode of payment on the competition between agent and retailer," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    18. Tarun Kabiraj & Uday Bhanu Sinha, 2011. "Strategic Outsourcing with Technology Transfer," Working papers 203, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
    19. Qiaohai (Joice) Hu & Panos Kouvelis & Guang Xiao & Xiaomeng Guo, 2022. "Horizontal outsourcing and price competition: The role of sole sourcing commitment," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 31(8), pages 3198-3216, August.

    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. Yutian Chen, 2010. "Strategic Outsourcing between Rivals," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 11(2), pages 301-311, November.
    2. Yutian Chen, 2011. "Strategic sourcing for entry deterrence and tacit collusion," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 102(2), pages 137-156, March.
    3. Kabiraj, Tarun & Sinha, Uday Bhanu, 2016. "Strategic outsourcing with technology transfer under price competition," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 281-290.
    4. Bakaouka, Elpiniki & Milliou, Chrysovalantou, 2018. "Vertical licensing, input pricing, and entry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 66-96.
    5. Cao, Jiyun & Mukherjee, Arijit & Sinha, Uday Bhanu, 2018. "Firm-asymmetry and strategic outsourcing," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 16-24.
    6. Andrea Pierce & Debapriya Sen, 2014. "Outsourcing versus technology transfer: Hotelling meets Stackelberg," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 111(3), pages 263-287, April.
    7. Yen-Ju Lin & Yan-Shu Lin & Kuang-I Tu, 2016. "Strategic input outsourcing and equilibrium location choice," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 56(1), pages 83-99, January.
    8. Yutian Chen & Debapriya Sen, 2015. "Strategic Outsourcing Under Economies Of Scale," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 134-145, April.
    9. Tarun Kabiraj & Uday Bhanu Sinha, 2011. "Strategic Outsourcing with Technology Transfer," Working papers 203, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
    10. Chrysovalantou Milliou, 2023. "Outsourcing without Cost Advantages," CESifo Working Paper Series 10645, CESifo.
    11. Colombo, Stefano & Scrimitore, Marcella, 2018. "Managerial delegation under capacity commitment: A tale of two sources," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 149-161.
    12. Yen-Ju Lin & Yan-Shu Lin & Kuang-I Tu, 2016. "Strategic input outsourcing and equilibrium location choice," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 56(1), pages 83-99, January.
    13. Milliou, Chrysovalantou, 2020. "Vertical integration without intrafirm trade," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    14. Orlando I. Balboa & Andrew F. Daughety & Jennifer F. Reinganum, 2004. "Market Structure and the Demand for Free Trade," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 125-150, March.
    15. Matsushima, Noriaki & Mizuno, Tomomichi, 2013. "Vertical separation as a defense against strong suppliers," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 228(1), pages 208-216.
    16. Hubert Kempf & Grégoire Rota Graziosi, 2010. "Leadership in Public Good Provision: A Timing Game Perspective," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 12(4), pages 763-787, August.
    17. Bruno Jullien & Markus Reisinger & Patrick Rey, 2023. "Personalized Pricing and Distribution Strategies," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(3), pages 1687-1702, March.
    18. Daniele Nosenzo & Martin Sefton, 2011. "Endogenous Move Structure and Voluntary Provision of Public Goods: Theory and Experiment," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 13(5), pages 721-754, October.
    19. Arya, Anil & Mittendorf, Brian & Sappington, David E.M., 2008. "Outsourcing, vertical integration, and price vs. quantity competition," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 1-16, January.
    20. Amir, Rabah & Stepanova, Anna, 2006. "Second-mover advantage and price leadership in Bertrand duopoly," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 1-20, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intermediate goods; outsourcing; Cournot duopoly; Stackelberg duopoly;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:pra:mprapa:14899. 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: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    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.