TY - JOUR
T1 - Antecedents and Performance Consequences of International Outsourcing
AU - Mol, Michael J.
AU - Van Tulder, Rob J.M.
AU - Beije, Paul R.
PY - 2005/10
Y1 - 2005/10
N2 - The outsourcing of intermediate products to international suppliers is believed to improve firm performance. We investigate this claim and test key dimensions of the decision to outsource internationally using survey data on 200 manufacturing firms located in the Netherlands. We find that most international outsourcing is intra-regional in nature. Furthermore, international outsourcing is a consequence of a firm's ability to search and evaluate foreign suppliers, which is co-determined by its size, multinationality, and frequency of cross-border communications. Finally, no performance effects were observed for international or global outsourcing. We conclude international outsourcing is a balancing act between lower production costs abroad and lower transaction costs locally.
AB - The outsourcing of intermediate products to international suppliers is believed to improve firm performance. We investigate this claim and test key dimensions of the decision to outsource internationally using survey data on 200 manufacturing firms located in the Netherlands. We find that most international outsourcing is intra-regional in nature. Furthermore, international outsourcing is a consequence of a firm's ability to search and evaluate foreign suppliers, which is co-determined by its size, multinationality, and frequency of cross-border communications. Finally, no performance effects were observed for international or global outsourcing. We conclude international outsourcing is a balancing act between lower production costs abroad and lower transaction costs locally.
KW - International Outsourcing
KW - Regionalisation/Globalisation
KW - Firm performance
KW - Intermediate Products
U2 - 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2005.05.004
DO - 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2005.05.004
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0969-5931
VL - 14
SP - 599
EP - 617
JO - International Business Review
JF - International Business Review
IS - 5
ER -