Offshore BPO at large captive operations in India

Purpose – The motivation for this research is to contribute towards development of a management framework for offshore Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). Design/methodology/approach This paper utilises longitudinal case studies to identify success factors in managing offshore Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) via the captive model (i.e. wholly-owned subsidiary). Findings – Success in offshore BPO is based on a combination of cost savings, technical service quality and strategic issues, is specific to business context and will change over time. Choice of engagement model (e.g. captive operation or armslength contracting) is an important success factor. Advantages of captive centers arise from higher levels of relationship quality, trust and collaboration effectiveness. Research limitations/implications – Focused on two global companies in two industry sectors (airlines and telecommunications), and both have adopted one particular BPO model (i.e. captive operation). Originality/value – The paper contributes to scarce literature on offshore captive BPO operations, the most common but also least researched engagement model. The findings have practical implications for managers designing offshore BPO strategy.