The Outsourcing Dilemma on Decision to Outsource Among Small and Medium Enterprises in Malaysia

Halim, Hasliza Abdul; Ahmad, Noor Hazlina; Ho, Theresa C.F.; Ramayah, T.

doi:10.1177/0972150916668603

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Originally, organisations outsourced manufacturing jobs, but over time, service jobs have been increasingly outsourced. To be more adaptive and efficient, the labour force was divided into a core force, associated with "core competencies", while those not central to the functioning of the organisation, such as human resources, information technology and security and cleaning work, considered peripheral (Halim et al, 2017;McIvor, 2010). These tasks were typically outsourced to service providers who were viewed to provide a more efficient, cost-effective and professional service.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is outsourcing better? Clients' views on contracting in domestic cleaning services

Toit

Heinecken

2021

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PurposeThe nature of paid domestic work is changing, with the growth in companies delivering domestic cleaning services. Few studies have looked at why people opt to use these services and the underlying drivers. As with the outsourcing of non-core tasks in businesses, outsourcing domestic work is motivated by similar, yet different reasons, which have to do with the personal and private nature of domestic employment. This study aims to establish the reasons why “clients”, who were former employers of domestic servants, opted to outsource domestic work to a domestic cleaning service provider.Design/methodology/approachGiven the limited research on domestic cleaning services in South Africa, a mixed-methods research approach is used.FindingsThe findings showed that there are three key motivations: the nature of the domestic cleaning service supplier, the services rendered by domestic workers and the tripartite employment relationships. These three benefits imply that clients have access to functional and numerical flexibility, unlike employing a domestic worker directly. This study contributes to the literature on outsourcing and domestic work by showing that clients not only look to change the economic structure of the relationship with domestic workers, but it allows them to psychologically and emotionally distance themselves from domestic workers.Research limitations/implicationsThis study shows that some people are no longer willing to have a relationship with the people who clean their homes, and that they believe it is simply not worth the effort to maintain a relationship. This is an aspect that needs further research, as this is the one sphere where women are united in their plight, albeit from different worldviews. Thus, a limitation is that this study only focuses on clients' views of outsourcing. Have domestic workers employed by the outsourced domestic cleaning service supplier become just like assembly-line workers, where they are anonymous to their clients, performing routine tasks with little recognition from those whose homes they are servicing? Future studies could focus on domestic workers' views on outsourcing and the effects it has on their working conditions and employment relations.Originality/valueFirstly, studies mainly focus on the Global North where domestic work and outsourcing have different dynamics, regulation policies and social changes when compared to South Africa. Secondly, few studies have sought to establish why people shift from employing a domestic or care worker directly to an outsourced domestic agency when direct domestic help is available and affordable. Considering these shortcomings, this study aims to provide a better understanding of domestic cleaning service suppliers from the perspective of clients, often omitted from the literature. Accordingly, this study aimed to establish what the benefits are for clients (former employers of domestic workers) who use domestic cleaning service suppliers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is outsourcing better? Clients' views on contracting in domestic cleaning services

Toit

Heinecken

2021

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“…Small and medium enterprise (SME) is widely considered as a powerhouse of an economy (Khazanchi, 2005; Halim et al , 2017). SME significantly improves the income distribution scenario, generates employment and reduces poverty (Hamdar, 2017; Nosratabadi, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of introducing e-commerce on small and medium enterprises – a case on logistics provider

Parvin

Asimiran

Ayub

2021

SBR

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Purpose Small and medium enterprises (SME) significantly alleviate poverty and generate employment to achieve sustainable economic growth. Using electronic devices, e-commerce allows an immediate and advanced communication service to accomplish business transactions. Considering logistics provider as a case, this paper aims to examine the impact of adopting an e-commerce technology on its customers’ and agents’ satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the difference in difference methodology to examine these effects and find positive impacts on both customers and service providers. Findings As SMEs are widely considered as the powerhouse of an economy, the authors’ findings suggest that using e-commerce not only makes an SME agent more efficient but also accelerates an SME business transaction, which ultimately helps to achieve sustainable economic growth. Originality/value A few studies are conducted in examining the impact of SME on economy. However, according to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research that examines the impact of e-commerce on SME.

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“…In view of that, it is important to examine the crowdsourcing practices from the perspective of owner-manager's behavior, which is an innovative owner-manager. This is because the innovative owners-manager is the one who makes the decisions related to the allocation of the organization's internal resources and direction of business strategies (Abdul Halim et al 2017).…”

Section: Innovative Owner-managersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting SMEs’ Business Strategy: Shifting Outsourcing to Crowdsourcing Practices to Enhance SMEs’ Performance

2022

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The emergence of digital technology platforms such as crowdsourcing platform allows SMEs to establish an unmediated connection between suppliers and the customers; hence, enabling a close engagement with other stakeholders. Crowdsourcing practice offers the SMEs an unprecedented opportunity to enhance their business performance via the utilization of a large pool of crowds' wisdom. Based on the above business strategy, it is very crucial to revisit SMEs' business strategy; i.e., by shifting traditional method of conducting business (outsourcing) to new business phenomenon i.e. crowdsourcing practices. Specifically, this paper attempts to explore the roles of crowdsourcing practices, innovative owner-managers, and the relationship quality in enhancing SMEs' business performance. The analysis technique used in this study using PLS-SEM. The study's findings revealed that innovative owner-manager and relationship quality of commitment can be explained further via leveraging on crowdsourcing practices to improve business performance. This study may enrich the crowdsourcing knowledge among SMEs to revisit their existing business strategies; and to implement and better manage crowdsourcing practices in their organizations, particularly in sustaining their businesses post

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The Outsourcing Dilemma on Decision to Outsource Among Small and Medium Enterprises in Malaysia

Cited by 8 publications

References 79 publications

Is outsourcing better? Clients' views on contracting in domestic cleaning services

Is outsourcing better? Clients' views on contracting in domestic cleaning services

Impact of introducing e-commerce on small and medium enterprises – a case on logistics provider

Revisiting SMEs’ Business Strategy: Shifting Outsourcing to Crowdsourcing Practices to Enhance SMEs’ Performance

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