Offshoring services: a case study of potential efficiency gains, unexplored due to inadequate coordination

Abstract

Offshoring has been referred to as the third industrial revolution and has offered companies the possibility to deliver services from overseas. To offshore certain activities tend to be rather complex, where communication and coordination are particularly essential to succeed and fulfil the initial purpose. We investigate how communication and coordination processes of an MNC look today, how it should be organized and which parts that should be emphasized in order to maximize the utility from having certain internal services offshored. With base in coordination theory, we conclude that the need for coordination and communication cannot be underestimated, not only in relation to tasks performed but also in relation to certain residue information. The problems and obstacles perceived by different stakeholders in the onshore–offshore relationship in our study seems to originate in lacking coordination of communication, which create misconceptions between parties. In order to maintain a healthy organization we request a clear offshore strategy from management, clear instructions in offshore processes and above all, a clear scheme to coordinate different kind of information between parties.