Title: Offshoring dynamics: implications for India as an attractive offshore location

Authors: Sumeet Gupta, Tanuka Bhattacharya, Sweta Agrawal, Heng Xu, Miti Garg

Addresses: Shri Shankaracharya College of Engineering and Technology, Bhilai, C.G. 490020, India. ' Shri Shankaracharya College of Engineering and Technology, Bhilai, C.G. 490020, India. ' Shri Shankaracharya College of Engineering and Technology, Bhilai, C.G. 490020, India. ' College of Information Sciences and Technology, Pennsylvania State University, 101 Information Sciences and Technology Building, University Park, PA 16802-6823, USA. ' The Logistics Institute – Asia Pacific, National University of Singapore, Block E3A, Level 3, 7 Engineering Drive 1, 117574 Singapore

Abstract: The last decade has seen dramatic increase in offshoring activities motivated by the drive to cut operation cost, focus on core competencies, speed to market and to stay globally competitive. The emergence of internet as an enabling technology has further accelerated the pace of offshoring activity. In this paper, we attempt to study the offshoring decision making. The literature on offshoring decision making has largely taken a firm related view of offshoring decisions. We argue that host country|s characteristics also play an important role in determining offshoring decision making. We also consider the firm level characteristics such as firm environment and type in determining offshore decisions. The results of this study support the relationship between host country characteristic (location attractiveness) and offshoring intensity of the firm. Implications for theory and practise are discussed.

Keywords: offshore locations; outsourcing; institutional theory; social exchange theory; India; operational costs; core competencies; markets; global competitiveness; internet; world wide web; enabling technologies; decision making; firm level characteristics; host countries; location attractiveness; offshoring intensity; offshoring dynamics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJICBM.2010.032390

International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 2010 Vol.3 No.3, pp.307 - 322

Published online: 02 Apr 2010 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article