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Invisible costs in offshoring services work
Author(s) -
Stringfellow Anne,
Teagarden Mary B.,
Nie Winter
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of operations management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.649
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1873-1317
pISSN - 0272-6963
DOI - 10.1016/j.jom.2007.02.009
Subject(s) - offshoring , work (physics) , service (business) , business , industrial organization , marketing , operations management , outsourcing , economics , engineering , mechanical engineering
Offshoring service work is an accelerating trend. While the cost‐savings from offshoring service work are usually clear, operating at a distance also brings with it certain “invisible costs.” We combine existing service operations theory with insights from the literature on communications and culture to present a new conceptual framework, organized around interaction intensity and interaction distance. We identify the drivers of these costs. We conclude with recommendations for controlling or attenuating invisible costs in offshoring service work.