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A Decisional Framework of Offshoring: Integrating Insights from 25 Years of Research to Provide Direction for Future *
Author(s) -
Mihalache Mashiho,
Mihalache Oli R.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
decision sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.238
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1540-5915
pISSN - 0011-7315
DOI - 10.1111/deci.12206
Subject(s) - offshoring , interdependence , mirroring , knowledge management , business , outsourcing , process management , computer science , marketing , sociology , social science , communication
Mirroring the growing trend for firms to support their operations by locating activities abroad, research on the practice of offshoring has increased considerably in recent years. However, despite the mounting research, understanding of the key factors influencing decision‐making for offshoring remains surprisingly limited due to fragmentation. In this study, we synthesize and integrate insights from different research domains in order to develop a comprehensive decisional framework for key offshoring decisions. The integrative decisional framework is based on a systematic review of offshoring research published in the most influential management and business journals in the past 25 years. In addition to providing a snapshot of the state of research on decision‐making for offshoring, this study aims to stimulate future research by identifying promising research opportunities. In particular, we propose that future research should use alternative theories to incorporate overlooked aspects of decision‐making, integrate different theories to account for the interdependencies between decisions, and adopt a portfolio perspective that considers each decision as part of an overall offshoring strategy.