In this exploratory study we look at human asset aspects of offshore outsourcing of services
that over time become more advanced and strategic potent to the outsourcing firms. As a
consequence, the outsourcing firms might want to internalize the operations. We focus on the
ways that outsourcing firms may transfer key personnel of local service providers to whollyowned
subsidiaries. We argue that a felt need for applying more powerful incentives on key
personnel of the service provider ‐ to harness and empower the sourcing operation ‐ may in
itself be a motive for, and key driver of, the internalization process
