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Applying Multiple Perspectives to the BPO Decision: A Case Study of Call Centres in Australia

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Outsourcing and Offshoring Business Services

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Abstract

Information technology-enabled business process outsourcing (BPO) is a growing phenomenon; yet, little research has been conducted to understand the factors that determine its appropriateness for organisations and what capabilities they should seek in potential suppliers. A multi-perspective approach to the BPO decision, encompassing the transaction, the organisation and its context, is proposed and a set of supplier capabilities to deliver upon it is outlined. A case study of outsourced call centres in Australia, based upon interviews with three suppliers and three clients, suggests such a multi-perspective approach is useful but that the interaction between the factors shaping the BPO decision is more complex than envisaged. The case also suggests that a common set of capabilities is sought from suppliers – though it is narrower than first proposed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Dibbern et al. (2004) identified 28 papers in the what category, 46 in the why and 36 in the how for the period 1988–2000.

  2. 2.

    Melville et al. (2004) suggest that adopting such a synthesising approach is beneficial. While the existence of multiple competing theoretical approaches can provide varied insights, the resulting fragmentation and isolation can also limit the overall development of understanding in an area.

  3. 3.

    Porter argued that five forces determine the attractiveness of an industry to a firm: bargaining power of buyers; bargaining power of suppliers; threat of new entrants; threat of substitute products or services and rivalry among existing firms.

  4. 4.

    A commingled rival approach according to Yin (1984).

  5. 5.

    With regard to the capabilities sought of suppliers, the underlying proposition in each case was that the capability was sought.

  6. 6.

    Together they represent over 50% of the market.

  7. 7.

    For example, codes related to Transaction cost theory included: TC-C (cost), TC-IT (information technology), TC-AS (asset specificity) and TC-U (uncertainty).

  8. 8.

    See the section related to Proposition 4 for details on how these cost savings arise.

  9. 9.

    By contrast, SUPPLIER3 and CLIENT3 were focused on changing the organisational culture.

  10. 10.

    It might be interesting to determine whether this is because the working environment is largely irrelevant or whether clients take it for granted.

  11. 11.

    The cases thus appear to lend support to the aside of Dibbern et al. (2004) that the why and what of outsourcing are interdependent.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Mark Borman

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  1. Mark Borman
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Correspondence to Mark Borman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, London School of Economics, London, United Kingdom

    Leslie P. Willcocks

  2. College of Business Administration, University of Missouri, SAINT LOUIS, Missouri, USA

    Mary C. Lacity

  3. University of Oxford , Oxford, United Kingdom

    Chris Sauer

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Borman, M. (2017). Applying Multiple Perspectives to the BPO Decision: A Case Study of Call Centres in Australia. In: Willcocks, L., Lacity, M., Sauer, C. (eds) Outsourcing and Offshoring Business Services. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52651-5_12

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