Call for Papers
International Outsourcing of Services: Expanding the Research Agenda
April 1, 2006
8:00am - 5:00pm
Main Campus, Temple University
Several forces converged in recent years to generate exponential growth in the international outsourcing of services (IOS): the Y2K scare; worldwide spread of communications and computing technologies; increasing competitive pressures to trim costs, improve quality, and shorten product development cycles; tight labor markets in the west, coupled with a talented, motivated, low-cost, highly-educated, almost bottomless pool of labor in certain countries; and so on. This growth was applauded by many corporate executives, business scholars, and free-trade economists, and opposed by many unions, employees in affected industries, and politicians. Today, IOS has grown beyond call centers and simple software coding, to include a broad range of highly sophisticated IT operations, medical diagnostics and treatment, legal work, computer animation, and other advanced activities.
Despite the manifest importance of this phenomenon for the service sector of the 21 st century, the discussion largely remains mired in anecdotal evidence and political expediency, and surprisingly little academic research has systematically addressed the economic, technological, financial, political, and cultural aspects of IOS. It would be especially timely and helpful to investigate the competitiveness implications of IOS. For the overall U.S. economy, for particular industries, and for individual companies, is IOS beneficial, harmful, or both? What policies must the U.S. government promote to capture economic value through IOS, while minimizing the downside? What IOS strategies must U.S. companies pursue in their quest for global competitiveness?
In this research forum, we wish to foster a dialogue among scholars studying issues related to IOS and international competitiveness, and their implications for international business (IB) strategy and theory development. Approximately twelve papers will be selected for presentation at the 7 th Annual IB Research Forum at Temple University , scheduled for Saturday, April 1, 2006 . Program sponsors will cover the presenters' travel and lodging expenses for up to $500. Subsequently, select papers from the research forum will be published in a Special Issue of the Journal of International Management .
Manuscript Submission: All manuscripts should be submitted electronically by December 16, 2005 to the Journal of International Management Office, at jim@sbm.temple.edu . Alternatively, a disk copy may be submitted to the JIM office, Fox School of Business & Management, Temple University, 349 Speakman Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA. Additional information is available on the Temple CIBER website, http://sbm.temple.edu/ciber/ , or by contacting Kim Cahill at 215.204.3778 or kcahill@temple.edu . Manuscripts are submitted with the understanding that they are original, unpublished works and are not being submitted elsewhere.