Outsourcing and Technological Change
39 Pages Posted: 29 Mar 2005 Last revised: 29 Dec 2022
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Outsourcing and Technological Change
Outsourcing and Technological Change
Outsourcing and Technological Change
Date Written: February 2005
Abstract
In this paper we argue that an important source of the recent increase in outsourcing is the computer and information technology revolution, characterized by increased rates of technological change. Our model shows that an increase in the pace of technological change increases outsourcing because it allows firms to use services based on leading edge technologies without incurring the sunk costs of adopting these new technologies. In addition, firms using more IT-intensive technologies face lower outsourcing costs of IT-based services generating a positive correlation between the IT level of the user and its outsourcing share of IT-based services. This implication is verified in the data.
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