THE ENIGMA OF GLOBAL OPERATIONS: CAPTURING THE OFFSHORING PROCESS

1. THE ENIGMA OF GLOBAL OPERATIONS: CAPTURING THE OFFSHORING PROCESS PhD project Dmitrij Slepniov CIP, Aalborg University

2. Outline • Background notes on my project • Overall advantages and disadvantages of the articles based thesis • Depth vs. breadth • Specific challenges of the articles based thesis • The biggest crisis and the most positive experience in the process

3. Background Notes • Strategic Environment of Offshoring • Geographical dispersion of operations • Vertical disintegration of value chain • Look for competitive advantages beyond current organisational border and intensifying external networking • Process nature of the developments: • Not a steady state • Occurs rather than merely exists • In a process of becoming, transforming, unfolding • But in the literature: • The phenomenon has become locked into a number of static states • Seen as a one time investment decision

4. Aims • to investigate and to increase understanding of the process of offshoring (the special focus on the strategic implications of the process for the dispatching side)

5. Working RQs • How does the offshoring process evolve over time? • What are the factors determining the trajectory of the offshoring process? • How does the offshoring process differ in certain cultural contexts? • What are the key strategic implications of the offshoring process for the dispatching organisation? • How companies may deal effectively with the impacts of the process of offshoring?

6. Notes on the Empirical Field and Methodology • Qualitative approach/ Multiple Case Studies strategy of inquiry • Case design data collection methods: documents analysis, semi-structured interviews and observations • Explorative Integration design (Maaloe, 2001) - the cyclic multi-theoretical approach to case research incorporating both Yin’s theory testing approach and Strauss&Corbin’s grounded design

7. Articles Considered for Inclusion • (A) Slepniov, D., Sørensen, B.V. (2006). Strategic Trajectories in the Offshoring and Offshore Outsourcing Process. The Proceedings of the 11th Cambridge International Manufacturing Symposium. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, Institute for Manufacturing. • (B) Slepniov, D., Sørensen, B.V. (2007). The Offshoring Initiatives: Tactical Reasoning with Strategic Outcomes. The Proceedings of the 2nd Nordic Workshop on Outsourcing. Lyngby: Technical University of Denmark (DTU). • (C) Slepniov, D., Sørensen, B.V. (2007). Offshoring Process: Dynamic Strategic Trajectories. Paper for the Annual Research Conference and Workshop on Offshoring Duke University, USA, April 14 - 17. • (D) Slepniov, D., Sørensen, B.V. (2007). Global Dispersion of Production - Dynamics of the Process at the Company Level. The Proceedings of the 14th International Annual EurOMA 2007 Conference: Managing Operations in an Expanding Europe. Ankara: Bilkent University. • (E) Slepniov, D., Waehrens, B. (2008). Offshore Outsourcing of Production : An Exploratory Study of Process and Effects in Danish Companies. Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal. Vol. 1, nr. 1, pp. 64-76. • (F) Slepniov, D., Sørensen, B.V. (2008). Opgaveafhængighedens voksende betydning i offshoring-processen.Børsen Håndbog i Supply Chain Management, København: Børsen Forum.

8. Articles Considered for Inclusion • (G) Slepniov, D., Waehrens, B. (2007). The Role of Evolving Task Interdependencies in the Offshoring Process. Paper for the DDLA Conference, Aarhus, Danmark. • (H) Global Distribution of Work: Literature Review (The paper is planned for 08/2008). • (I) Offshoring Process: a Comparative Investigation of Danish and Japanese Companies(Work in progress, is based on the stay at Waseda University, Tokyo) • (J) Evaluation of the Potential Scenarios of the Offshoring Process (The paper is planned for 12/2008). • (K) Effective Management of the Potential Offshoring Scenarios (The paper is planned for 02/2009)

9. ‘Publishing Strategy’ WORKING PAPER CONFERENCE PAPER JOURNAL CONSIDERED FOR SUBMISSION

10. Articles Based Thesis • Advantages • Psychologically easier (i.e. Visible progress in stages) • Stress in ‘tea spoon’ portions vs. a wave of stress in the last 6 months • Feedback on a regular basis • Easier project management • Use for teaching • Quick dissemination of the actual results (especially important when the phenomenon is embedded in a turbulently changing context) • No need to switch between paper formats (i.e. radically re-writing a paper into a format for conference and journal submissions)

11. Articles Based Thesis • Disadvantages: • Lack of room for a deep case narrative presentation • Lack of room for a thorough analysis • Fragmentation and gaps between ‘sub-projects’ within one project • Sketchy in some parts, detailed in others • The creative process overshadowed by pragmatism and targets of delivering • Compromise (unconscious) of depth vs. breadth • However the issue of depth and breadth trade-offs is not only articles based dilemma

12. Specific challenges • The challenge of integration • Deciding what are the key leitmotifs of the thesis • The challenge of balancing pragmatic approach and creativity • The pressures and frustration over turning working papers into publications on a regular basis

13. Striking Crises and Positive Experiences • The largest crisis so far • Getting stuck with one paper • Going behind the ‘schedule’ of publishing • The most positive experiences • Getting your research into journals