The link between academia and outsourcing

One of the surest signs that an industry or profession is maturing is its entry into the university realm. This can be either through courses or university professors publishing research papers and books on the industry/profession.

In the case of sourcing, both of these are evident.

The Carnegie Mellon University's efforts in relation to eSCM (eSourcing Capability Model) are well-known. And of course, those efforts are being supported by leading companies such as TPI, which was a co-author of eSCM-CL (the client portion).

On the research front, I recently found a book by Bob Kennedy called The Services Shift. While it inevitably suffers, like all books, from carrying examples that are since out-of-date almost immediately after it has been printed, the effort at developing a theoretical underpinning for sourcing is certainly a valuable contribution to our industry. In particular, the section on transaction cost economics makes for good reading not only for buyers of services, but also for providers as well as governments.

Please share other examples of sourcing that has been dealt with in an academic fashion.

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Michael Rehkopf

Michael has more than 20 years of experience in operations, strategy and sourcing covering all major parts of the globe. He has also worked for Australian, Canadian, German and Japanese companies in both business process outsourcing and IT outsourcing.
Michael's industry experience includes the financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications and travel sectors. He leverages this diverse industry experience and his university background in accounting, IT and his Master of Dispute Resolution, to assist clients in the development of business strategies and the implementation of sourcing strategies. These include the associated evaluation, negotiation and organizational change.
Michael is currently a partner at TPI, the world's oldest and largest sourcing advisory firm. Prior to joining TPI, Michael held leadership positions with Siemens Business Services, OpenPlus International, Mitsubishi Electric and Netron.