4,338 research outputs found

    Organizational Learning and Capabilities for Onshore and Offshore Business Process Outsourcing

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    This paper identifies and analyzes firm-level characteristics that facilitate onshore and offshore business process outsourcing (BPO). We use organizational learning and capabilities to develop a conceptual model. We test the conceptual model with archival data on a broad cross section of U. S. firms. Our empirical findings indicate that firms with experience in onshore information technology (IT) outsourcing and capabilities related to IT coordination applications and process codification are more likely to engage in BPO, and firms with experience in internationalization are more likely to engage in offshore BPO. We also find that IT coordination applications have a greater impact on onshore BPO than on offshore BPO, and the effect of process codification is partly mediated through IT outsourcing

    A Field Study of RFID Deployment and Return Expectations

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    Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology promises to transform supply chain management. Building on previous research in information systems and supply chain management, this paper proposes a theoretical framework for RFID adoption and benefits, and tests the framework using data on U.S. firms. Our analysis suggests that there is a positive association between information technology (IT) application deployment and RFID adoption. We find that RFID implementation spending and partner mandate are associated with an expectation of early return on RFID investment, and a perceived lack of industry-wide standards is associated with an expectation of delayed return on RFID investment. These results suggest that firms with broad IT application deployment and a critical mass of RFID implementation spending are more likely to report early returns from RFID deployments. This paper extends previous research to understand the relationship between organization characteristics and adoption and expected benefits of the emerging RFID technology

    How Client Capabilities, Vendor Configuration and Location Impact BPO Outcomes

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    Despite the increasing use of onshore and offshore business process outsourcing (BPO), a comprehensive literature review [38] finds that there has been limited empirical research on BPO outcomes. This article responds to the call for research by developing and testing a conceptual model for BPO outcomes using data from 50 firms publicly traded in the U.S., including 38 firms in the Forbes Global 2000. We find that client firm capabilities, vendor configuration, and country location lead to interesting tradeoffs in the BPO quality, cost, and time outcomes. For example, while multi-sourcing offers advantages such as risk mitigation, client firms encounter reduced BPO time benefits when they use multiple vendors. While onshore BPO can lead to an improved quality, higher onshore labor costs result in lower BPO cost savings. And while offshore destinations such as India offer lower labor costs, time zone differences lead to reduced BPO time benefits

    How Multinational Corporations Use Information Technology to Manage Global Operations

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    Despite a generally-acknowledged importance of information technology (IT) in enabling global strategy and a broad understanding of the manner in which IT enhances coordination and reduces cost, few studies have focused precisely on how multinational corporations (MNCs) use IT to facilitate globalization. To address this gap in the literature, we conduct a case study across four large MNCs, and use primary data to develop theoretical propositions on the characteristics of products, processes and customers that impact the ways in which MNCs use IT to manage their global operations

    Characterization of a 5-eV neutral atomic oxygen beam facility

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    An experimental effort to characterize an existing 5-eV neutral atomic oxygen beam facility being developed at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is described. This characterization effort includes atomic oxygen flux and flux distribution measurements using a catalytic probe, energy determination using a commercially designed quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS), and the exposure of oxygen-sensitive materials in this beam facility. Also, comparisons were drawn between the reaction efficiencies of materials exposed in plasma ashers, and the reaction efficiencies previously estimated from space flight experiments. The results of this study show that the beam facility is capable of producing a directional beam of neutral atomic oxygen atoms with the needed flux and energy to simulate low Earth orbit (LEO) conditions for real time accelerated testing. The flux distribution in this facility is uniform to +/- 6 percent of the peak flux over a beam diameter of 6 cm

    Digital Transformation of Global Business Processes: The Role of Dual Embeddedness

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    While much existing research on MNC digital transformation has followed a linear design and implementation logic using cross-sectional data, the multiple and divergent needs of headquarters (HQ) and subsidiaries suggest that MNC digital transformation actually involves a more iterative journey. In this paper, we apply the theoretical perspective of embeddedness to better define the complexities of MNC digital transformation, and identify how HQ and subsidiaries can navigate the complexities. This paper presents a longitudinal multi-case study of five Forbes Global 2000 firms that are HQ in Europe with large subsidiaries in the U.S. We find that the process of digital transformation is significantly influenced by internal embeddedness (relationship of HQ with subsidiaries and across subsidiaries) and external embeddedness (relationship of subsidiaries with their local markets), and also by strategy, financial and technology considerations. While HQ and subsidiaries have different perspectives, an understanding of these influences can help HQ and subsidiaries navigate digital transformation

    How Does Customer Service Offshoring Impact Customer Satisfaction?

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    Information technology (IT) plays a vital role in customer relationship management (CRM), because CRM processes include the collection and analysis of customer information, firms use technology tools to interact with customers, and IT created the conditions under which firms can offshore CRM processes. Customers have negative perceptions toward offshoring, which suggests that firms might be reluctant to offshore IT-enabled CRM processes. However, firms have significantly increased offshoring for CRM processes, presenting a conundrum. Why would firms increase offshoring for CRM processes if there could be a risk to customer satisfaction? This paper helps to resolve the conundrum by studying the impact of CRM sourcing on customer satisfaction with the firm’s products and services, as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction IndexTM. We analyze data for 150 North American firms and business units over a nine-year period. Front office offshore outsourcing and front office onshore outsourcing are both negatively associated with customer satisfaction, which suggests that negative customer perceptions may be due to the firm boundary dimension rather than the geographic location dimension. Front office offshore outsourcing is not statistically significant for services firms, which suggests that customers are more accepting of offshore providers in a service setting. Over time, the coefficient for back office offshore outsourcing has become more positive, which suggests that firms may expect to see a similar improvement for front office offshore outsourcing in the future. Our empirical results provide a basis to understand why firms have increased IT-enabled CRM offshoring despite short-term risks to customer satisfaction

    A Model to Support IT Infrastructure Planning and the Allocation of IT Governance Authority

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    Information technology (IT) requires a significant investment, involving up to 10.5% of revenue for some firms. Managers responsible for aligning IT investments with their firm\u27s strategy seek to minimize technology costs, while ensuring that the IT infrastructure can accommodate increasing utilization, new software applications, and modifications to existing software applications. It becomes more challenging to align IT infrastructure and IT investments with firm strategy when firms operate in multiple geographic markets, because the firm faces different competitive positions and unique challenges in each market. We discussed these challenges with IT executives at four Forbes Global 2000 firms headquartered in Northern Europe. We build on interviews with these executives to develop a discrete-time, finite-horizon Markov decision model to identify the most economically-beneficial IT infrastructure configuration from a set of alternatives. While more flexibility is always better (all else equal) and lower cost is always better (all else equal), our model helps firms evaluate the tradeoff between flexibility and cost given their business strategy and corporate structure. Our model supports firms in the decision process by incorporating their data and allowing firms to include their expectations of how future business conditions may impact the need to make IT changes. Because the model is flexible enough to accept parameters across a range of business strategies and corporate structures, the model can help inform decisions and ensure that design choices are consistent with firm strategy
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