ABSTRACT
This chapter explores motives of organizational outsourcing and the trends and patterns these activities have taken in the last three decades or so domestically as well as cross-border. It assesses a range of HRM implications for the outsourcing client and supplier firms, as organizations externalize their once internal activities and employment relationships. It also examines the extent of offshore outsourcing fuelled by the economic globalization and the impact this may have on the workforce domestically and offshore. It demonstrates that outsourcing, while providing a range of national, organizational and individual benefits, may have broader social and economic ramifications as a result of the restructuring of organizational activities and the extending of the global value chains, which have become ‘buyer-driven’ rather than ‘producer-driven’. It is clear that some of the HRM implications are related and cross-cutting each other to create knock-on effects. There is still much to be understood as outsourcing expands in functional activities and new sites around the world as firms seek competitive advantage and new alliances strategically.
