The aim of the paper is to investigate how far transaction cost based explanations of outsourcing interact with the industrial relations of the firm. The theoretical background which underpins the paper is that this kind of interaction reveals an important aspect of what has been termed the “governance inseparability” of the firm, and of the way in which transaction costs actually work in “real time”. Theoretical correlations between outsourcing decisions and outsourcing variables related to transaction costs and industrial relations are formulated and then tested with respect to a representative cross-sectional sample of firms of a local production system in Emilia Romagna (that is, Reggio Emilia). The main result of the paper is that outsourcing decisions are indeed affected by the organizational and industrial relations typical of the context firms are embedded in. In particular, it emerges that unions, so to say, push the brake pedal at the outset, but when outsourcing occurs, they are involved or at least informed.
Outsourcing and Transaction Costs in "Real" Time and Space: Evidence for a Province of Emilia-Romagna (Italy)
PINI, Paolo;MAZZANTI, Massimiliano;MONTRESOR, Sandro
2007
Abstract
The aim of the paper is to investigate how far transaction cost based explanations of outsourcing interact with the industrial relations of the firm. The theoretical background which underpins the paper is that this kind of interaction reveals an important aspect of what has been termed the “governance inseparability” of the firm, and of the way in which transaction costs actually work in “real time”. Theoretical correlations between outsourcing decisions and outsourcing variables related to transaction costs and industrial relations are formulated and then tested with respect to a representative cross-sectional sample of firms of a local production system in Emilia Romagna (that is, Reggio Emilia). The main result of the paper is that outsourcing decisions are indeed affected by the organizational and industrial relations typical of the context firms are embedded in. In particular, it emerges that unions, so to say, push the brake pedal at the outset, but when outsourcing occurs, they are involved or at least informed.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
