Roadmap for knowledge sharing and transfer: sustaining outsourcing relationships

摘要

The research deals with the subjects of knowledge sharing and transfer within the context of outsourcing relationships. There are many activities and practices that have been identified to be useful among partners (i.e. buyer/manufacturer and provider/suppliers) such as story telling, job rotation across firms, hiring former staffs from manufacturers and shared database. Further analysis has led to the development of a roadmap designed to help plan for a better partnership with the suppliers. This research involved 15 cases with over 24 companies in Finland for identifying key relevant activities and practices. An executive in Thailand further assisted the extension of these findings and the roadmap development. The primary benefit from this research is to minimise possible mistakes, misunderstanding and miscommunication), especially during a transitional period when a manufacturer decides to outsource some of its operations to the suppliers.