DEVELOPMENT OF OFFSHORE OPERATIONS CAPABILITIES: A MULTI-CASE STUDY

Informações

Código: ESO1100
Divisão: ESO - Estratégia em Organizações
Tema de Interesse: Tema 03 - Estratégia e Conhecimento

Autores

Vilmar Antonio Gonçalves Tondolo, Cláudia Cristina Bitencourt, Hale Kaynak

Resumo

The main objective of this study is to understand how companies developcapability to manage and implement offshore operations. Even though offshore operations isnot a new subject – it has been practiced by companies for a long time, and is a growingoperations practice employed by companies worldwide – academic efforts are still needed toachieve a full understanding of this phenomenon. One of those efforts is the comprehension ofthe strategic aspects of offshore. Offshore has implications for the strategic management fieldbecause it can instigate a firm to develop new capabilities and resources. In addition,companies have also moved high skill and core business activities overseas, requiringimplementation of new organizational measures. For instance, literature has suggested thatcapabilities development is important to undertake more complex offshore processes and toovercome managerial challenges and implementation barriers. Thus, this study integratesDynamic Capabilities as a main theory lens and offshore operations as organizational context.More specifically, this study takes Dynamic Capabilities as the “firm\'s ability to integrate,build, and reconfigure internal and external competences to address rapidly changingenvironments” (Teece, Pisano, & Shuen, 1997, p. 516). This concept emphasizes DynamicCapabilities (DC) as a set of organizational processes, which result in the development ofspecific capabilities in order to fit with environmental conditions. This study also takesoffshore operations as “the movement or relocation of domestic firm activities and operationsabroad” (Bunyaratavej, Hahn, & Doh, 2008, p.227). Thus, the study offers a twofoldcontribution to the field. First, it explores how companies develop capability to manageoffshore operations. Second, it explores the role of three dynamic capabilities elements (paths,positions, and processes) in the development of such capabilities. In order to achieve itsobjectives, eight case studies with manufacturing companies that have implemented captiveoffshore operations were carried out. The qualitative data were collected through semistructuredinterviews. The interview protocol was developed to cover elements related todynamic capabilities and offshore based on a literature review. Using theory building throughcase studies, it was possible to obtain research outcomes such as types of offshore operationsimplemented by the companies; strategic roles of offshore operations; barriers to implementoffshore operations; coordination mechanisms, resources, and capabilities developed bycompanies to implement offshore operations; and the role of dynamic capabilities elements(paths, positions, processes, and firm-specific DC processes) on the development of capabilityto manage and implement offshore operations. We also suggest propositions and an integratedmodel. Finally, this study contributes to practitioners by suggesting methods used bycompanies that have been developing capability to manage offshore operations.

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