توسعه یک مدل چند معیاره ترکیبی برای انتخاب ارائه دهندگان برون سپاری

Outsourcing is a good strategy for firms that need to reduce operating costs and improve competitiveness, but it remains important for firms to scientifically select the appropriate outsourcing providers. Some efforts have been made regarding outsourcing problems, but these efforts incorrectly assumed that the criteria in the decision process are independent, which is not true in the real world. In this paper, we propose a new hybrid multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) model, which addresses the dependent relationships among criteria with the aid of the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method to build a relations-structure among criteria. The Analytical Network Process (ANP) is used to determine the relative weights of each criterion with dependence and feedback. The VIKOR method (VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje in Serbian, meaning Multi-criteria Optimization and Compromise Solution) is then used to prioritize the alternatives. The proposed model can help practitioners improve their decision process, especially when criteria are numerous and inter-related. Throughout our study, we use data from a Taiwanese airline to demonstrate this method.

Outsourcing can be simply defined as devising a contract with an external organization to take primary responsibility of providing business processes (Yang, Kim, Nam, & Min, 2007). Business outsourcing has become an ever-increasing trend in today’s highly competitive markets. Firms can either embark on internal off-shoring (by setting up their own centers or subsidiaries in foreign countries while maintaining full ownership and control) or external off-shoring (by handing over business functions to independent foreign providers). Interest is growing among strategy and international business scholars to better understand how outsourcing can be used as a strategic device, or sometimes as a strategy itself, in order to create value (Kedia & Mukherjee, 2009). But the concept of outsourcing is not new. External service providers in areas such as facilities operations, finance, accounting, logistics, legal services, marketing, and customer care have existed for a long time. However, elements such as new technologies, delivery models, globalization, and a more demanding end-user continue to provide impetus for outsourcing activities (Yang et al., 2007). The result – firms’ increased efficiencies and abilities to focus on core competencies – has produced real profits and increased customer satisfaction. Nevertheless, ineffective outsourcing activities, derived from improper strategies or methods, will lead to a loss of core competencies and capabilities, exposure to unexpected risk, and business failures (Wang & Yang, 2007). Therefore, a scientific decision process for choosing outsourcing providers is very important to increasing the success rate of outsourcing.

This study suggests a decision model for outsourcing that considers interdependencies between criteria and shows how the model may be applied in real world decision processes. Factors affecting outsourcing partner selection were investigated in multiple criteria (including compatibility, quality, cost, and risk) in order to avoid the mistakes made by traditional outsourcing decisions. These traditional decisions generally only consider cost as a criterion, or assume that the criteria are independent. Also, our hybrid model considers both maximum group utility and individual regret to measure the gaps between alternative and ideal solutions, which is a completely different approach method than the conventional SAW method. Our results have several implications for outsourcing partner selection process. First, managers considering outsourcing should identify its selection criteria and weights very carefully. Various criteria and weights may result in a different solution. In addition, since it is up to managers to assess the criteria and their relative impact on provider selection, they need to have a clear picture of their evaluating systems. In addition, managers of outsourcing providers should understand which factors can affect the outsourcing partner selection. For example, managers much make special efforts to enhance their compatibility with the users, because a provider’s compatibility plays a significant role in the decision model for outsourcing activities.