Offshoring Research Network - Surveys, Case Studies, and Services

Surveys, Case Studies, and Services

Primary activities of the ORN include the annual Corporate Client Survey and the annual Service Provider Survey. In addition, the ORN conducts flash surveys on current or emerging topics, case studies and custom research. Based on their research, ORN members publish papers in both academic and practitioner-oriented journals. In addition, ORN partners, in particular the Duke University team, provide a range of services: education programs, workshops, webcasts and advisory services.

At the core of ORN is the annual Corporate Client Survey. It tracks strategic drivers and risks of offshoring, location choices, delivery models, performance outcomes and future plans of U.S.-based, European and other companies. Particular features are:

• • Respondents include companies that currently engage in offshoring, that are considering offshoring and that have not yet considered offshoring
  • Data is collected at multiple levels: firm level (firm demographics, offshoring strategies and outcomes, business functions offshored, future plans); business process level (drivers and risks), implementation level (launch year and location choice of concrete offshore projects, task information, service delivery model, savings achieved)
  • Offshoring drivers and projects are captured across business processes, including IT, Software Development, Finance & Accounting, Call Centers, Human Resources, Legal Services, Procurement, Marketing & Sales, Engineering, Product Design, Research & Development and Knowledge & Analytical Services (KPO)
  • The survey captures previous offshoring projects (with emphasis post-1990s), current implementations and future plans
  • Participating firms are from various industries, ranging from Financial services, Manufacturing, Software companies to Technical and Professional Services
  • Participating firms include large (from the Forbes 2000), mid-size and small companies (<500 employees)
  • The survey is translated into the native business language of different participating countries
  • A new web-based survey application offers respondents continuous access and on-demand benchmarking features

In parallel, the ORN research team annually conducts the Service Provider Survey which collects data on the supply of offshore services. Particular Features are:

• • Participating firms include large, mid-size and small providers (<500 employees)
  • Participating service providers are from all main offshore destinations, e.g., India, China, Eastern Europe, as well as U.S.-based service
  • Data is collected at two levels: firm level (firm demographics, services provided, industries served, risks perceived, talent recruiting, future plans); and process level (location of provision of particular business processes, savings achieved, contract renewal rate)

More recently, the ORN research team at Duke University initiated Flash Surveys aiming to capture recent developments and trends in the offshoring arena. For example, in late 2008, the team launched a flash survey focusing on the impact of the current financial crisis on offshoring.

Additional case studies conducted by ORN partners serve to illuminate firm-level challenges with offshoring as well as the emergence of new organizational capabilities and best practices. A number of MBA teaching cases and academic publications have been and are being produced from these case studies.

Services provided by the ORN include workshops and webcasts on annual survey findings and offshoring research. The Duke University research team organized the 1st Annual Offshoring Research Conference, held at Duke University, in 2007, and it will host the 3rd Annual Conference, April 5–7, 2009. Other services include Executive MBA programs, PhD workshops, and special workshops at academic conferences (e.g., the European Group for Organizational Studies). The Duke University ORN team also holds an annual executive education program titled “Successful Offshoring and Outsourcing Strategies.” This program combines top managers sharing experiences in a panel format, with ORN research on the offshoring practice. To encourage interaction with speakers and encourage cross learning, participation is limited to 30 attendees.