برون سپاری خارجی تحول گرا: شواهد تجربی از اتحادها در چین

Adopting a transformational offshore outsourcing perspective, we examine empirically the relationship among the motive to acquire tacit knowledge from outsourcing partners, formal and social control mechanisms, and innovation outcomes among Sino-foreign as well as local alliances. We constructed our theoretical model incorporating knowledge management, social exchange, and alliance risk perspectives, and hypothesized that motives to acquire partners’ tacit knowledge through offshore outsourcing will affect firm innovation via two forms of control, namely social control and formal control. Our empirical testing, utilizing two sub-samples composed of Sino-foreign offshore outsourcing alliances and local outsourcing alliances, respectively, reveals that the motive to acquire outsourcing partner's tacit knowledge and different control mechanisms are significant predictors of incremental and radical innovation outcomes, and that there are some intriguing differences between the Sino-foreign alliances and local alliances.

For firms in developed countries, offshore outsourcing began as an effective means to reduce manufacturing and processing costs and to focus on core business activities. As these firms continue to search ways to gain competitiveness, offshore outsourcing is gradually gaining significance as an important source of business renewal and corporate transformation (Kakabadse and Kakabadse, 2005, Khan and Fitzgerald, 2004 and Linder, 2004). In recent years, multinational enterprises in sectors from telecommunications to electronics to aerospace to pharmaceuticals have turned their attention to outsourcing partners in other countries for new designs, product development, and more importantly for corporation transformation (Engardio and Einhorn, March 21, 2005). Offshore outsourcing entails the transfer of parts of a Western firm's value chain activities to partners in emerging economies such as China and India for a period of time, usually at least a few years. The main forms of offshore outsourcing include technological cooperation, manufacturing agreements, and distribution services. Clearly offshore outsourcing utilizes a variety of inter-firm collaboration. Because of the greater need to collaborate closely with partner firms especially if such outsourcing relations become more central to a firm's overall position, inter-firm collaboration and strategic alliances have become a vital form of offshore outsourcing arrangement. As technological management became absorbed within the broader field of knowledge management, alliances for offshore outsourcing have been viewed from a knowledge management perspective (Grant and Baden-Fuller, 2004). Acquiring the partner's tacit knowledge through offshore outsourcing then becomes central to inter-firm collaboration. Transformational offshore outsourcing indeed relies on tacit knowledge acquisition to accomplish goals of strategic change, and corporate renewal (Linder, 2004). By acquiring and exploiting tacit knowledge developed by others, firms can speed capability development and minimize their exposure to technological uncertainties (Grant and Baden-Fuller, 1995). Following this perspective, innovation becomes a central outcome for firms pursuing transformational outsourcing. Comparing with this emerging trend, the research lags (Ramamurti, 2004). We have limited understanding how offshore outsourcing partners develop innovation, and furthermore, if the innovation generation dynamics in offshore outsourcing arrangements will exhibit the same pattern as those in domestic outsourcing arrangements. Conceptually a number of conflicting theoretical perspectives are available to inform scholars and managers effective management of offshore outsourcing. Empirically there is limited research in how offshore outsourcing facilitates innovation.

This study makes three important contributions. First, integrating existing theoretical perspectives on offshore outsourcing and transformational offshore outsourcing as well as social exchange, and alliance risk perspective, we built a model linking the motive to acquire tacit knowledge in outsourcing alliances, social and formal control with two types of innovation. Second, this paper reported an empirical study set in China's transitional economy comparing between Sino-foreign offshore outsourcing alliances and local outsourcing alliances to highlight both commonalities and differences, revealing the challenges of realizing radical innovations in the Sino-foreign alliance samples, and at the same time the importance of cultural and business practice familiarities involving local alliance partners. We argued and empirically demonstrated that in the Chinese context it is important to utilize both formal and social controls. Differing with prior research, we took into consideration the background of Chinese economy transition, and indicated that basic formal control mechanism is necessary for tacit knowledge acquisition from the partners because the yet to be fully developed market environment and law environment. According to this logic, both formal and social control should be strengthened simultaneously. Finally, our findings highlighted the different effects of two control mechanisms on different types of innovation. The social control mechanism is beneficial to radical innovation, while the formal control has a positive effect on incremental innovation. Departing from cost reduction and core focus logic central to the traditional view of offshore outsourcing, transformational offshore outsourcing focuses on business renewal and corporate transformation. Innovation through offshore outsourcing becomes a promising new direction. This study examined Sino-foreign alliances and local alliances from this perspective. Our study identified the importance of tacit knowledge acquisition, and control mechanisms when it comes to radical and incremental innovation. We also uncovered the cultural and business practice familiarities as an important contributing factor. Extending this study in other settings will be useful such that we will be able to compare important conclusions across different contexts. Furthermore, conducting this study with a longitudinal design will be profitable as we may learn further if the findings in this study are transitional situational specific or not. Extending the concept of innovation to include other dimensions of innovation (such as organizational and strategic innovations) will be promising as well since the transformational outsourcing focuses on business renewal and corporate transformation.