Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Services Technology and Management

 

Special Issue on: “The Outsourcing Process in Services”

Guest Editor: Dr. Tomás F. Espino-Rodríguez, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

Globalisation, increased competition and the constantly changing environment have led many firms to outsource services. The aim of the outsourcing strategy is to improve productivity, increase revenues and achieve greater flexibility. Outsourcing allows firms to offer services better, faster, and more efficiently, thereby gaining value in the perception of customers. Banks, hotels, healthcare firms and universities, are some examples of service firms that are increasingly outsourcing services. Moreover, the services that industrial firms opt to outsource include operations related to logistics, the supply chain and information technology (IT).

This special issue aims to focus on the performance and strategy aspects of the outsourcing of services. More specifically, the papers may focus on different perspectives; for example:

• the comparison between outsourcing versus insourcing
• the evaluation of front office and back office services that could be reorganised by means of outsourcing; and
• an analysis from the perspective of customer-supplier relations, the quality of interorganisational relations or the factors of success in interorganisational relations.

For the outsourcing of services to be successful, special importance must be given to the process of outsourcing and the development of interorganisational relations that permit the growth of relational capabilities and knowledge Papers that address the above mentioned problems and other established issues in depth are welcome. This special issue encourages theoretical and empirical researchers to provide vision and the papers should represent an advance in research on outsourcing. Theoretical papers should offer a review of the literature and promote research related to outsourcing.

The purpose of the special issue is to serve as a reference guide for professionals and academics interested in outsourcing.

Subject Coverage
We are interested in receiving research papers case studies or conceptual papers which fall within one or more of the special issue themes. Submissions are encouraged from all areas of research within the broad ambit of 'outsourcing in services' from all areas of business. Appropriate special issue themes include but are not restricted to the following:

• Operational and strategic aspects of outsourcing in services
• The development of capabilities and knowledge transfer across organisational boundaries by means of outsourcing
• The development of frameworks for the outsourcing of services
• Impact of outsourcing in organizational performance
• Third party logistics and IT outsourcing
• Outsourcing front office versus back office
• Outsourcing best practices
• Management of outsourcing in services
• Monitoring performance outsourcing
• Customer perceptions of quality and outsourcing

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines page

Important Dates

Manuscripts due: 30 April 2007

Notification due: 30 June 2007