College of Business & Economics

Department of e-Business & Technology Management

Seminar Series

The Department of e-Business and Technology Management encourages scholarship through a research seminar series that features faculty presentations of recent work to faculty and students within the department and College of Business and Economics. Past seminar titles include:

Date of Presentation	5/14/2010
Time	11:00:00 AM
Location	ST 310
Presenter	Dr. Tobin Porterfield
Seminar Title	Does Competition Affect Industry Outsourcing Decisions? Evidence from U.S. Manufacturers
Abstract	Strategy and operations research have indicated that industry competition may be driving firm outsourcing decisions. Anecdotal evidence from U.S. manufacturers also suggests that industry competition is associated with outsourcing. However, there is little systematic empirical research regarding the impact of upstream and focal industry competition on focal industry outsourcing. Based on 1997 and 2002 U.S. census data on all manufacturing industries, this study aims to bridge the research gap, using value-added as a percentage of industry output to derive industry outsourcing. The unit of analysis is the 6-digit North American Industry Classification System sector. We develop a research model and hypotheses to evaluate the impact of upstream and focal industry characteristics on outsourcing decisions.