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In this study we present and test a technological contingency perspective on two dimensions of international outsourcing: depth and scope. The depth of international outsourcing refers to the ratio of foreign to total outsourcing. The scope of international outsourcing captures the degree of psychic dispersion between the country of operations and the countries a firm is outsourcing from. Using multiple regression analysis on a sample of 189 firms in the Netherlands, the effect of five technological contingency factors is measured: product innovation, technological and volume uncertainty, asset specificity, and the integration of the outsourcing function. A most interesting finding is that technological uncertainty and the degree of product innovation turn out to be both positively associated with a high scope/low depth type of international outsourcing and negatively associated with a low scope/high depth type of international outsourcing. The findings create a platform for a two-dimensional typology, which provides an explanatory logic for the expansion and development path of international outsourcing.

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Purpose Not all companies deal with green supply chain management (GSCM) in the same way. The purpose of this paper is to understand a company’s GSCM motivation and how this motivation is linked to stakeholder pressures, a company’s GSCM practices and performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors report the findings of a survey on GSCM motivations. Findings Clear differences are seen in why companies are motivated to pursue GSCM. Based on these different motivations, this paper explains differences in perceived stakeholder pressure and performance. Research limitations/implications GSCM motivation is a sensitive topic and as such might cause respondents to provide socially desired answers. However, the analyses show clear variances in the answers, indicating that the measures put forth by the authors are valid. Social implications This study shows that to achieve sustainable GSCM, companies can be motivated in various ways. Also, stakeholders can learn from this study: they need to focus their attention toward companies whom they have the highest impact on. Originality/value First, this study tests a framework for GSCM motivations and shows that motivation mediates the relationship between stakeholder pressures and performance. Second, this study shows that these differences in motivation impact performance outcomes.

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This study analyzes whether customer perceptions towards sustainability are affected by a company's country of origin and sourcing strategies. This study builds upon the literature regarding customer interest in sustainable products. It adds the country of origin to the link between customer and company, and analyzes if and how customer perceptions change when they are introduced to a sustainability scandal, hence analyzing possible 'association by guilt'. It compares their reactions to offshore scandals and to local scandals, therefore taking psychic distance as an important variable into consideration. Customer perceptions of company sustainability was found to have an impact on purchasing behavior. Findings show that perceptions are influenced by psychic distance. Furthermore, companies should take into account the risk of association by guilt when developing their global sourcing strategies.