برون سپاری، قابلیت های رقابتی و عملکرد : یک مطالعه تجربی در شرکت های خدماتی

In analyzing the relationship between outsourcing and firm performance, different authors have studied the effects that outsourcing can have on the firm. Even if we establish an initial link between outsourcing and representative measurements of the results achieved through cost savings or the creation of greater market value, no author seems to have established a precise relationship between outsourcing and the most representative measures of company performance (organizational and business performance). After reviewing the literature on this issue, we believe that research has undervalued the impact that outsourcing decisions have on our competitive capabilities. After making an empirical study of service firms, this article finds that there is a relationship between outsourcing decisions and company performance which is articulated via the impact of outsourcing decisions on the firm's competitive capabilities.

In the study of the repercussions of strategic decisions on organizations, some research areas have been neglected. Various authors advocate the need for more research in this field, especially into the decisions that affect the structure of firms (Lonsdale and Cox, 2000) and suggest that this should be done in association with the performance analysis of the outsourcing strategy (Lee and Sung, 2008). In the process of monitoring the success of organizations, performance and the measurement of performance are the most commonly used tools for assessing whether or not organizations have made the right decisions (Dixon et al., 1990, Neely, 2005 and Neely, 2002). Within the degree of fit to the market environment, which has a direct effect on the results obtained, the need arises to study why firms adopt their particular structures. The main explanatory factor is the gap between the cost of accessing markets and the problem of diseconomies of scale that originate in the excessive size of certain firms (Coase, 1937). At this point the need arises to identify the boundaries of the firm correctly, defining which activities should be performed internally and which should be outsourced. Outsourcing is a useful method for adjusting the boundaries of the firm in response to external economic pressures. It enables the firm to consolidate its strategy by restructuring its activities in order to stimulate growth of its core business. This involves a fundamental change in strategy (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990). In order to ensure that outsourcing is successful, firms should balance the strategies of vertical integration and externalization (Rothaermel et al., 2006) and analyze in detail the impact of these decisions on their results, by studying all the variables involved in this process. With this in mind, we have presented a model to study the relationship between the impact of outsourcing decisions on the firm's competitive capabilities, taking into account that this impact leads to improved company performance.

Various authors have studied the effects of outsourcing on the firm. The reasons for outsourcing grounded in the capacity that it gives organizations to focus exclusively on those activities that enable them to develop sustainable competitive advantages over time are justified by the opportunity outsourcing gives firms to use their resources at maximum capacity. This study presents the relationship between the benefits of outsourcing and the impact that outsourcing decisions have on the competitive capabilities that the firm develops, although this impact has only been shown to affect external capabilities. This is because the impact on external capabilities is indirect, which is not the case for internal capabilities. This observation leads us to conclude that outsourcing encourages the development of resources that enable the achievement of sustainable competitive advantages. For this reason, the study analyzes the impact that the theoretical benefits of outsourcing have on companies’ external competitive capabilities from a dual perspective of business capabilities (increases flexibility, improves customer satisfaction, enables firms to focus on their core activities, and strengthens them strategically) and organizational capabilities (technological improvement of operations, access to new technologies, perfecting management processes, and increase in innovations). Using the structural equations model, we confirmed that this impact on competitive capabilities is reflected in the increased level of flexibility with which the organization responds to market demand, faster introduction of new services, broader distribution of services, an increase in the number of services, and a contribution to promoting services more efficiently. A summary of these effects is shown in Fig. 4, where we can see the different business and organizational aspects of the various benefits of outsourcing, and also the impact on external competitive capabilities. The obtaining of competitive advantages offered by outsourcing by facilitating the firm's adaptation to market conditions is the most important impact of outsourcing on organizations.