D.M. van Gorp

Redefining the paradigm for global competition : Offshoring of service firms

Purpose – The article discusses offshoring as an irreversible trend that is redefining the paradigm of global competition of service firms, and provides insight and practical advice regarding the offshore behavior of service firms for management professionals.Design/methodology/approach – The offshoring process is applied to service firms including lessons learned. It is largely based on the results of a research study among 247 service firms determining their offshore behavior and illustrated with examples of their offshoring activities.Findings – Offshoring is redefining global competition and service firms should use it as a tool to create a competitive advantage vis‐a‐vis their competitors. In doing so they should careful prepare offshoring in different phases of the process as suggested in the 4M approach. Moreover, they should decide in an early stage on monitoring, reporting and measuring the offshoring process and secure continuous commitment from management.Research limitations/implications – The...

International divestements--an empirical perspective

Considering the flurry of international expansion over the last half century, it is perhaps inevitable that multinational enterprises have lately been finding the need to divest many of those foreign activities. Indeed, international divestment is a basic tool of every MNEs strategic business policy. Of all the various reasons to divest, the most salient seem to be to concentrate the scope of business and ameliorate poor financial results. As this study of Dutch MNEs points out, alternative or more attractive growth opportunities, the lack of a local competitive edge, copycatting, and an unfavorable political climate prove to be significantly less important motives.

International Divestments: An Empirical Perspective

The experience of Dutch international companies is that divestments in the 1980s and 1990s brought increased strategic focus to management and stock market favour.