ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a comparative historical analysis of the emergence of an offshore service sector in India and the Philippines. It concentrates on the more qualitative aspects of the integration of both countries into global service production networks (GSPNs) and also focuses on the similarities and differences of the emergence of the sector in both countries and the causal factors for divergent trajectories. It then develops a theoretical understanding of the prerequisites for the local emergence of a offshore services sector. The chapter further investigates the interplay of factors that gave rise to offshore service delivery from India and the Philippines and the role of diverse actors in the strategic coupling of regions with offshore service networks, as discussed in the global production network (GPN) framework. Several globalisation forces combined have led to the creation and expansion of GPNs, namely economic liberalisation policies, increased global competition, and the spread and pervasive use of information and communications technologies (ICTs).
