برون سپاری فن آوری اطلاعات و ارتباطات و عملکرد در سطح شرکت : دیدگاه هزینه معامله

We analyzed the effect of the level of low asset specificity IT outsourcing on firm-level financial performance. We used transaction cost economics (TCE) as the theoretical basis to explain the effect of the level of network and telecommunication services outsourced on financial performance. An analysis of 1444 Integrated Healthcare Delivery Systems revealed that higher levels of network and telecommunication services outsourced were associated with superior financial performance. Specifically, each additional network and telecommunication service outsourced resulted in an average $3,120,000 in savings, a 25% increase in profit. In addition, increases in IT budgetary expenditures were found to be associated with increased financial performance. Our study provided preliminary support for the use of asset specificity to guide outsourcing decisions. In particular, IT activities that have become commodities (having ‘low specificity’) should be outsourced to improve the firm's financial performance.

The management of organizational IT is fundamental to organizational success [7]. Outsourcing IT can reduce its overall cost to the firm; this was the focus of our study. Prior IT outsourcing studies have examined a wide variety of topics, including why firms choose to outsource, management and relationship issues associated with it [15], and the performance outcomes associated with it. Our study extended this by empirically analyzing the relationship between the level and type of IT outsourcing and firm-level financial performance. By understanding the characteristics of IT that make it amenable to outsourcing, we can determine its potential to improve firm performance, allowing firms to make better decisions regarding what type of IT to outsource or insource. The total value of the IT outsourcing market in North America was estimated at $160 billion in 2005. The make or buy decision for IT services can have a significant impact on the firm's operational efficiency and its bottom-line. One of the foundations of globalization and outsourcing is its communications network. Electronic communication networks allow access to a larger, more diverse range of markets providing organizational IT departments with a range of options when considering whether or not to outsource particular functions. Given their homogeneous, standards based nature, internal networks can be considered commodities that are likely to be more efficiently procured in the marketplace than built internally. Similarly, network management services to operate and maintain the network are IT commodities that can be more efficiently procured in the marketplace. For the healthcare industry, outsourcing IT functions has the potential to reduce the cost of administering healthcare services. Researchers at Boston University's School of Public Health estimated that $1.9 trillion dollars was spent on healthcare in the United States in 2005, an increase of 48% since 2000 [1]. Administrative costs account for as much as 25% of the expenses [10].

The primary objective of our study was to answer the research question: do firms with higher levels of IT outsourcing of resources that are low in asset specificity experience higher financial performance than firms with lower levels of asset specificity in the Healthcare Industry? By analyzing network and telecommunication services outsourced while controlling for IT budgetary expenditures, organizational network complexity, and the ratio of IT staff to total number of employees for 1444 IHDSs, a test of the significance of each of these parameters was performed. Network and telecommunication services outsourced were found to affect financial performance significantly, as measured by the ratio of total revenue to total annual costs. Results from our study show how increased numbers of network and telecommunication services outsourced are associated with firm-level financial performance such that each additional network and telecommunication service outsourced is associated with approximately $3,120,000 in increased profit corresponding to a 25% increase in profit. Furthermore, our study suggested that the number of network and telecommunication services outsourced and the level of IT budget positively affected performance while the level of IT infrastructure and IT personnel did not. These findings have important managerial implications. Organizations should dramatically expand their level of IT outsourcing and reduce their level of investment in internally owned and operated IT commodities. Of course, this study had some additional limitations. One involved the fact that the data are from a single industry. A second concerned the low R2 of the model. While it was shown to be statistically different from a constant model, it explains a low proportion of firm-level financial performance. A third limitation concerns the fact that only the effect of low asset specificity outsourcing on firm-level financial performance was analyzed. We provide preliminary support for the use of asset specificity to guide outsourcing decisions and strong evidence that low asset specificity outsourcing is associated with increased firm-level financial performance. Overall, these findings will aid managers in restoring their firms to financial health.