Strategic guidelines for outsourcing decisions

Abstract

This article: examines outsourcing as a potentially complex decision that has been associated with both the development of strategic advantage and the loss of strategic capability; discusses a range of perspectives that have been proposed for evaluating the outsourcing decision, including the role of competitive advantage and environmental change, cost, capability, the need to retain and develop essential relationships, choice of technology and the monitoring and revision of sourcing decisions; develops guidelines for the decision; makes reference to the experience of companies in a variety of industries. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.