Strategic Outsourcing for Sustainable Competitive Advantages: Case studies of Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) in China

Increasingly, with rapid wealth growth of emerging global economies, the basis of competitive advantage is changing from internal capacities to network capabilities. What matters is not a company ownership of hard assets but rather its ability to fully utilize them to capture the worldwide business opportunities. In this highly competitive global environment, outsourcing is approached not as a functional value extension but strategic priority practice for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. This paper presents a research model that describes strategic outsourcing practices for sustainable competitive advantages in Chinese context. Case studies include global firms from Switzerland, Korea and USA that have been operating in China for more than seven years successfully. This paper discusses how each firm maintains clear and disciplined strategic focus in achieving desired business outcomes. Case studies of these firms in China may provide better understanding on how to implement successful outsourcing practices in the Chinese market.