Supply Portfolio Concentration in Outsourced Knowledge-Based Services

40 Pages Posted: 16 Feb 2010

See all articles by Mahka Moeen

Mahka Moeen

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Deepak Somaya

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Department of Business Administration

Joseph T. Mahoney

University of Illinois

Date Written: February 15, 2010

Abstract

The vertical integration literature has examined outsourcing decisions mainly to understand the extent to which a firm engages in outsourcing. The question of how the firm's portfolio of outsourced work is managed across suppliers has been relatively understudied. This paper examines factors that influence how outsourced knowledge-based service work is distributed among suppliers. Our focal interest is in predicting when outsourcing will be concentrated in a smaller number of suppliers. Using data on the outsourcing of patent legal services, we find empirical evidence that high firm specificity of the outsourced work, high reliance on outsourcing and domain focus of outsourced activities positively influence the concentration of outsourced work in the hands of fewer suppliers.

Keywords: outsourcing, knowledge-based services, supplier management, transaction cost economics

Suggested Citation

Moeen, Mahka and Somaya, Deepak and Mahoney, Joseph T., Supply Portfolio Concentration in Outsourced Knowledge-Based Services (February 15, 2010). Atlanta Competitive Advantage Conference 2010 Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1553416 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1553416

Mahka Moeen

University of Wisconsin - Madison ( email )

716 Langdon Street
Madison, WI 53706-1481
United States

Deepak Somaya (Contact Author)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Department of Business Administration ( email )

1206 South Sixth Street
Champaign, IL 61820
United States

Joseph T. Mahoney

University of Illinois ( email )

1206 South Sixth Street
339 Commerce West
Champaign, IL 61820
United States
217-244-7969 (Phone)
217-244-4102 (Fax)

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