Outsourcing Strategies of Established Firms and Sustainable Competitiveness: Medical Device Firms

Successful outsourcing strategy is a key enabler of sustainable competitiveness of established firms engaged in technology-intensive business. This study proposes a research framework of a successful outsourcing process composed of resources, dynamic capabilities and created values, from a review of relevant literature and in-depth case study of four leading medical device firms. The research results specify four outsourcing types according to the characteristics of outsourced resources, and their alignment with resources owned by the outsourcer. Each type of outsourcing is positively affected by the outsourcer’s dynamic capabilities, namely sensing, integrating capability, absorptive capability and technology transfer capability. In addition, the significance of the outsourcee’s size according to each outsourcing type is also found. As a result of successful outsourcing experience, the outsourcer can reap the benefits of enhanced dynamic capabilities, i.e., market-oriented innovation, strategic flexibility, agility and increased efficiency, thereby creating a virtuous cycle of sustainable competitiveness in a volatile environment.