بررسی تعارض، اعتماد و تعهد در روابط برون سپاری : مطالعه ی چینی و هندی

This paper presents a theoretical and empirical model that identifies conflict handling typologies which affect trust and commitment in B2B outsourcing relationship. Three typologies of conflict handling namely integrating, accommodating and compromising were examined for their effects on trust and commitment of Chinese and Indian human resource (HR) outsourcing service providers. The paper also considered the moderating effect of culture in the relationship. Data was collected from Chinese and Indian firms providing HR outsourcing services and analyzed using factor and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. We found both similarities and dissimilarities in the outcomes of the study. Specifically, conflict handling styles are significantly associated with trust and commitment. Trust mediates in the association of conflict handling styles with commitment. The impact of compromising conflict handling on trust and commitment is moderated by culture — significantly higher for the Chinese service providers compared to the Indians. Culture has also a direct impact on commitment but not on trust. Theoretical, cultural and managerial implications of the findings are presented.

The term human resource (HR) outsourcing in this paper refers to the action of allowing external vendors to perform an entire HR activity (such as training, payroll, etc) for an organization (Lilly, Gray, & Virick, 2005). An increasing number of organizations are outsourcing their HR operations. According to the Bureau of National Affairs (2004), two-thirds of HR executives surveyed say their HR departments outsource at least one HR activity. Past studies have documented the benefits and downside of outsourcing (Jensen and Meckling, 1976, Linder, 2004 and Society for Human Resources Management, 2004). SHRM (2004) found that in some cases HR outsourcing led to a decrease in customer service. Another downside of outsourcing in general is the agency theory-based questions of whether the agent will represent the principal well (Jensen & Meckling, 1976), especially if s/he holds contrasting or conflicting values as the principal. Can the principal trust the agent to represent it well especially when little or no supervision is involved or when the agent has full autonomy? From the agent's perspective are the following questions: Can the agent trust the principal to provide full and accurate information? Will the agent not be held accountable for genuine mistakes? Can the principal willingly seek to resolve conflicts in a fair manner? These concerns and issues can bring problems in the outsourcing relationship, and could lead to the determination of the contract in extreme circumstances or diminished trust and/or commitment in others. How organizations handle conflict can affect the strength and future of the outsourcing relationship. Yet there is a serious shortage of research on conflict handling in B2B outsourcing relationship and its consequences.

The focus of outsourcing research till now has remained on understanding ways to improve the principal's (outsourcer) trust in the agent (outsourcing service provider). Hardly any effort has gone into understanding how to enhance the service provider's trust in outsourcers. Yet a quality outsourcer–service provider relationship is not achievable without mutual trust. Hardly anything is known about how the conflict management styles of the outsourcer will affect the trust and commitment of the service provider, due to dearth of research in the area. To better understand how a principal's conflict management style can affect the trust and commitment of the service provider is one of the impetuses for this research. This is a new dimension to the outsourcing research that traditionally focuses on how the outsourcer (principal) perceives the behaviour of the vendor (agent) and the quality of their services and representations. The study further compares two Asian cultures — Chinese and Indians, to unveil any differences in the impact of conflict handling styles on trust and commitment between the two. It thus adds value to the present knowledge in the field. In sum, trust is very important in outsourcing relationship. Chinese and Indian service providers have shown that good conflict handling strategies by the outsourcer can be key drivers of trust and commitment. The three conflict handling typologies were also examined and found to account for a considerable amount of variance in trust and commitment. Whereas the integrating and accommodating conflict handling styles do not differ significantly in their impacts on trust and commitment between Chinese and Indian HR outsourcing service providers, the influence of compromising conflict handling on trust and commitment does significantly differ between the two groups. There are enough reasons to suggest that culture and nature of market should not be ignored in trying to understand and model the facilitators or drivers of trust and commitment in B2B outsourcing relationship through good conflict management. These findings are important contributions to theory and practice of outsourcing in cross-cultural contexts.