{"id":{"repo_id":"gatech","oai_identifier":"oai:repository.gatech.edu:1853/16146"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/gatech/oai:repository.gatech.edu:1853/16146","repository":{"repo_id":"gatech","name":"Georgia Tech","base_url":"https://repository.gatech.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Outsourcing of supply chain processes: evaluating the impact of congruence between outsourcing drivers and competitive priorities on performance","abstract":"The outsourcing of elements of supply chain processes is now an integral component of the operationalization of a firm s competitive business strategy. While the purported goal of outsourcing is usually to derive a competitive advantage in the marketplace, it is not clear whether the outsourcing decisions made by firms are always strategically aligned with their overall competitive strategy. To shed light on this important issue, this research study empirically examines the performance impact of the alignment (congruence) between a firm s competitive priorities (cost, flexibility, innovativeness, quality, and time) and the drivers of its outsourcing decisions. First, we develop and validate a survey instrument used to collect data for this study from manufacturing firms operating in the United States. Next, we use structural equation modeling to examine the impact of alignment between individual competitive priorities and related groups of outsourcing drivers. This analysis finds a significant positive relationship between outsourcing alignment and performance for a number of competitive priorities. Finally, we use cluster analysis to develop a taxonomy of manufacturing strategies which are tested to determine the relationship between the alignment of outsourcing decisions and performance. The taxonomic investigation identifies three unique clusters of firms based on their competitive priorities and then determines alignment between each cluster strategy and outsourcing to be significantly associated with better performance. To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies in the literature that address the issue of strategic congruence between the outsourcing drivers and competitive priorities of a firm, and the impact of such congruence on firm performance.","abstract_html":"The outsourcing of elements of supply chain processes is now an integral component of the operationalization of a firm s competitive business strategy. While the purported goal of outsourcing is usually to derive a competitive advantage in the marketplace, it is not clear whether the outsourcing decisions made by firms are always strategically aligned with their overall competitive strategy. To shed light on this important issue, this research study empirically examines the performance impact of the alignment (congruence) between a firm s competitive priorities (cost, flexibility, innovativeness, quality, and time) and the drivers of its outsourcing decisions. First, we develop and validate a survey instrument used to collect data for this study from manufacturing firms operating in the United States. Next, we use structural equation modeling to examine the impact of alignment between individual competitive priorities and related groups of outsourcing drivers. This analysis finds a significant positive relationship between outsourcing alignment and performance for a number of competitive priorities. Finally, we use cluster analysis to develop a taxonomy of manufacturing strategies which are tested to determine the relationship between the alignment of outsourcing decisions and performance. The taxonomic investigation identifies three unique clusters of firms based on their competitive priorities and then determines alignment between each cluster strategy and outsourcing to be significantly associated with better performance. To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies in the literature that address the issue of strategic congruence between the outsourcing drivers and competitive priorities of a firm, and the impact of such congruence on firm performance.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kroes, James Raymond"],"institution":"Georgia Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Management","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Ghosh, Soumen"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Stratman, Jeff","Lawrence James","Subramanian, Ravi","Singhal, Vinod"],"year":2007,"date_issued":"2007-06-05","date_published":"2007-06-05","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:50:24Z","subjects":["Congruence","Alignment","Fit","Supply chain","Outsourcing","Performance"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1853/16146","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Ghosh, Soumen"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Stratman, Jeff","Lawrence James","Subramanian, Ravi","Singhal, Vinod"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Management"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kroes, James Raymond"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2007-08-16T17:41:30Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2007-08-16T17:41:30Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2007-06-05"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Georgia Institute of Technology"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Congruence","Alignment","Fit","Supply chain","Outsourcing","Performance"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1853/16146"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The outsourcing of elements of supply chain processes is now an integral component of the operationalization of a firm s competitive business strategy. While the purported goal of outsourcing is usually to derive a competitive advantage in the marketplace, it is not clear whether the outsourcing decisions made by firms are always strategically aligned with their overall competitive strategy. To shed light on this important issue, this research study empirically examines the performance impact of the alignment (congruence) between a firm s competitive priorities (cost, flexibility, innovativeness, quality, and time) and the drivers of its outsourcing decisions. First, we develop and validate a survey instrument used to collect data for this study from manufacturing firms operating in the United States. Next, we use structural equation modeling to examine the impact of alignment between individual competitive priorities and related groups of outsourcing drivers. This analysis finds a significant positive relationship between outsourcing alignment and performance for a number of competitive priorities. Finally, we use cluster analysis to develop a taxonomy of manufacturing strategies which are tested to determine the relationship between the alignment of outsourcing decisions and performance. The taxonomic investigation identifies three unique clusters of firms based on their competitive priorities and then determines alignment between each cluster strategy and outsourcing to be significantly associated with better performance. To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies in the literature that address the issue of strategic congruence between the outsourcing drivers and competitive priorities of a firm, and the impact of such congruence on firm performance."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Outsourcing of supply chain processes: evaluating the impact of congruence between outsourcing drivers and competitive priorities on performance"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Ghosh, Soumen"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Stratman, Jeff","Lawrence James","Subramanian, Ravi","Singhal, Vinod"],"dc:contributor.department":["Management"],"dc:creator":["Kroes, James Raymond"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2007-08-16T17:41:30Z"],"dc:date.available":["2007-08-16T17:41:30Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2007-06-05"],"dc:description.abstract":["The outsourcing of elements of supply chain processes is now an integral component of the operationalization of a firm s competitive business strategy. While the purported goal of outsourcing is usually to derive a competitive advantage in the marketplace, it is not clear whether the outsourcing decisions made by firms are always strategically aligned with their overall competitive strategy. To shed light on this important issue, this research study empirically examines the performance impact of the alignment (congruence) between a firm s competitive priorities (cost, flexibility, innovativeness, quality, and time) and the drivers of its outsourcing decisions. First, we develop and validate a survey instrument used to collect data for this study from manufacturing firms operating in the United States. Next, we use structural equation modeling to examine the impact of alignment between individual competitive priorities and related groups of outsourcing drivers. This analysis finds a significant positive relationship between outsourcing alignment and performance for a number of competitive priorities. Finally, we use cluster analysis to develop a taxonomy of manufacturing strategies which are tested to determine the relationship between the alignment of outsourcing decisions and performance. The taxonomic investigation identifies three unique clusters of firms based on their competitive priorities and then determines alignment between each cluster strategy and outsourcing to be significantly associated with better performance. To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies in the literature that address the issue of strategic congruence between the outsourcing drivers and competitive priorities of a firm, and the impact of such congruence on firm performance."],"dc:description.degree":["Ph.D."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1853/16146"],"dc:publisher":["Georgia Institute of Technology"],"dc:subject":["Congruence","Alignment","Fit","Supply chain","Outsourcing","Performance"],"dc:title":["Outsourcing of supply chain processes: evaluating the impact of congruence between outsourcing drivers and competitive priorities on performance"],"dc:type":["Text"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:50:24Z"}