Global Sourcing of Services and Market Performance: An Empirical Investigation

Global procurement of services has received an increasing amount of managerial attention in recent years. Service firms seem to have begun sourcing some of their activities from abroad in much the same way that manufacturing firms have outsourced in the past 30 years. However, little is known about the performance implications of a service sourcing strategy. This study applies, with appropriate modifications, a global components/finished goods sourcing strategy framework to the service sector. It also tests hypotheses relating service firms’ global sourcing strategy to their market performance.