Dmitrij Slepniov

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of task interdependence at the organisational level on the process of offshoring. To examine these effects three explorative case studies are used to illustrate the unfolding nature of task interdependencies as companies increasingly distribute their activities. Results underline the importance of diverse task interdependencies, and illustrate their evolving role in the process of offshoring and the configuration of the operations network. This paper also proposes a conceptual framework, which illustrates the effects of task interdependence. It shows how certain developments of the unfolding offshoring process may be explained by evolving task interdependencies. We close with a discussion of the implications for both theory and practice. The paper fosters better understanding of the existing theory and knowledge of task interdependencies and the offshore outsourcing process by investigating distributed tasks, which cross not on...

In the search for new sources of competitive advantage, companies are replacing a traditionally collocated in-house production with globally configured value networks, which consist of diverse and interdependent affiliates. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of interdependence in the process of global dispersion of work. The paper employs a qualitative methodology, which draws on a case study of a Danish company. The case company embarked on a large scale offshore outsourcing initiative in 2005. Since then, the company's operations set-up went through several major re-configurations. The study indicates that the company's offshoring patterns cannot be attributed exclusively to either management decisions or exogenous factors. Among other explanations, interdependence plays a significant role in determining the trajectories and outcomes of offshoring. On this basis, a number of recommendations for managers are developed.

This paper is concerned with second generation outsourcing, a recent phenomena where critical activities with a significant historically generated knowledge base are outsourced to an external partner. We seek to develop a more nuanced understanding of second generation outsourcing decisions and their consequences, as well as formulate a number of propositions on how companies can develop organisational capability to successfully outsource knowledge intensive activities internationally. The empirical part of the paper is based on an illustrative case of a company, which worked its way through a second generation outsourcing initiative. The case is developed based on interviews, documents and site visits. We find that the second generation outsourcing tasks environment makes new demands on the relational structure as well as its supporting infrastructure. We propose that the decision to dispatch knowledge intensive critical production tasks to parties overseas have implications far be...

ABSTRACT Subject area – Operations strategy/global operations/value chain. Study level/applicability – BA/Master level – The case can be applied to support operations strategy discussions related to the link between context, configuration, and capabilities, and particularly to discuss internationalization strategy and global operations. Case overview – The case is initiated with an overview of the wider corporate and industrial context, which are included to supply contextual information pertinent to the understanding of competitive requirements and strategic choices of the company. The case then moves into establishing an understanding of the operationalization of these requirements and choices through a discussion of the structural configuration and organizational capabilities. Expected learning outcomes – The case it expected to build an understanding of the fit between competitive priorities and their operationalization within structural and infrastructural decision areas. Supplementary materials – Teaching note.

ABSTRACT Title – From traditional manufacturing towards virtual servi-manufacturing: Gabriel's journey. Subject area – Operations strategy/global operations/value chain. Study level/applicability – BA/Master level – the case can be applied to support operations strategy discussions related to the link between context, configuration and capabilities, and particularly to discuss internationalization strategy and global operations. Case overview – The case examines how Gabriel, a Danish textile company, transformed itself from being a traditional textile manufacturer to becoming an innovative virtual servi-manufacturer. The case covers the main milestones in Gabriel's recent history, explores the main reasons for the transformation that started in the late 1990s and studies how this transformation towards becoming a virtual servi-manufacturer was dealt with. The case closes with the sections examining the role of innovation activities in the newly transformed company. Expected learning outcomes – The case is expected to build an understanding of the organisational and operational implications of the journey towards the virtual production company. While the case is broad in its scope, it provides an opportunity to go into details on a number of interrelated topics: operations strategy; global production networks; communication and coordination; interdependencies; and outsourcing and offshoring. The story of Gabriel illustrates a highly successful globalization journey and its underlying dynamics. The case highlights how the operations configuration and the relationships between key parties do not stay constant over time. They rather shift and adapt to internal and external stimuli. The case explores these stimuli in retrospect and describes how the company attempts to reconcile market requirements with its operations configurations and capabilities. Supplementary materials – Teaching note.

ABSTRACT Purpose – This paper is concerned with the realisation process of offshore outsourcing activities. The authors seek to understand the dynamic effects facing companies launching offshore outsourcing initiatives and to identify different types of mitigating efforts, which companies instigate to deal with these. Design/methodology/approach – Two exploratory case studies are developed based on interviews, documents, and site visits. Findings – The paper builds an understanding of patterns emerging from offshore outsourcing paths developments and discusses their organisational implications. It is proposed that the decision to dispatch standardised production tasks to parties overseas has implications over and beyond the initial intentions, which challenge the strategic scope and operationalisation of inter-unit roles and responsibilities. Practical implications – The paper suggests that the process, and particularly the mitigation-oriented agency that take place as the process unfolds throughout the company, deserves a more significant space in future research of how companies learn to deal with outsourcing relationships. From this key lessons for practitioners are outlined, which prompt managers to work with the emerging realities of outsourcing relationships. Originality/value – The study of the offshore outsourcing process is based on two in-depth case studies providing rich illustrations of the process dynamics and how companies may start to work with these.

ABSTRACT Purpose ‐ The principal objective of this paper is to relate functional nodes of production and innovation in global operations networks. The authors aim to capture the implications of changing strategic roles and locations of manufacturing for innovation capabilities. Design/methodology/approach ‐ The authors draw on the operations networks literature and use mixed methods of enquiry, including case studies, workshops and survey techniques. Part of the empirical base of the study is a series of workshops and an examination of 14 Danish companies that have experienced radical changes in their operations configurations. To provide a more complete view of these developments, the authors complement the qualitative methodology with a survey of an overall sample of 675 Danish and 410 Swedish companies. Findings ‐ On the basis of the findings from the survey, the series of workshops and case studies of Danish companies presented in this paper, the authors find that although the potential benefits of global dispersion of manufacturing are vast, the realisation of these potentials depends on how successful companies are with linking the new strategic roles and locations of manufacturing with innovation at their home base. The paper identifies and discusses groups of capabilities important to this link. Practical implications ‐ Three propositions are developed to advance the understanding of the role of cross-functional coordination and alignment, as well as their significance in the strategic initiatives of global dispersion of operations. The findings assist global companies in organising cross-functional coordination and interrelated functional nodes of production and innovation in global operations networks. Originality/value ‐ Not only routine transactional tasks but also more knowledge-intensive proprietary tasks cross both national and organisational borders. The challenge of coordination in these emerging configurations is imperative which has not been adequately addressed so far. By using mixed methods of inquiry, this paper provides a more complete view of the phenomenon and presents the main dilemmas underlying it.

ABSTRACT Production, innovation and service networks of companies all over the world become increasingly decentralised, specialised and interdependent. These three characteristics combined inevitably lead to the formation of complex configurations of resources, crossing both national and organisational borders. The existing studies do not adequately address the complex interplay between co-evolving production, innovation and service networks. The widening geographical and cognitive gaps between these networks mean that coordinating them and managing their interfaces in a global operations context are becoming strategically important. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue and to develop a number of propositions about the development and organisation of these networks. The paper highlights the critical importance of engineering operations in this process. The propositions are developed by employing the design science approach based on a literature study and industrial co-development workshops with 12 Danish industrial companies. The paper closes with suggestions for how the tentative results of this work can be unravelled further by extending its empirical base.