The paper aims at investigating which are the drivers of the outsourcing decisions of firms located in a specific local production system. Different kind of drivers are considered by drawing on different strands of literature, which retain the firm not only from an organizational point of view, but also as a production, industrial and innovation unit of analysis. Theoretical correlations between outsourcing decisions and outsourcing variables 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. Furthermore, the general profile of the Reggio Emilia outsourcing firm is strategic rather than operative. In particular, tapping-into the provider’s resources and competences to eventually promote technological innovation seems more relevant than searching for lower costs by contracting out.
What drives (or hampers) outsourcing? Evidence for a local production system of Emilia Romagna
PINI, Paolo;MAZZANTI, Massimiliano;MONTRESOR, Sandro
2009
Abstract
The paper aims at investigating which are the drivers of the outsourcing decisions of firms located in a specific local production system. Different kind of drivers are considered by drawing on different strands of literature, which retain the firm not only from an organizational point of view, but also as a production, industrial and innovation unit of analysis. Theoretical correlations between outsourcing decisions and outsourcing variables 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. Furthermore, the general profile of the Reggio Emilia outsourcing firm is strategic rather than operative. In particular, tapping-into the provider’s resources and competences to eventually promote technological innovation seems more relevant than searching for lower costs by contracting out.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
