Offshoring and firm performance: self-selection, effects on performance, or both?

Abstract

Offshoring, Germany, Enterprise panel data, F23,

Offshoring, domestic outsourcing and productivity: evidence for a number of European countries

“…A reverse causality bias could arise due to selection effects in offshoring as suggested by e.g. Antràs and Helpman (2004) and Wagner (2011). In this strand of the literature highly productive firms have been found to be more likely to engage in offshoring than less productive firms.…”

“…Winkler (2010) finds that service offshoring increases the productivity of German manufacturing industries, when controlling for domestic outsourcing. Wagner (2011) finds some evidence for positive productivity effects for German firms using a matching approach.…”

Outsourcing and Firm Performance: Evidence from the Italian Manufacturing Industry

“…As observed by Olsen (2006) and Schwörer (2013) direct investigations of the impact of outsourcing on firm performance are relatively small and provide some evidence that outsourcing can increase productivity, but the identified effects are quite heterogeneous depending on the analysed country, the firm's specific characteristics (exporters versus non-exporters, foreign-owned versus domestic) or the kind of activities outsourced (materials or services). Several studies (Girma & Görg, 2004;Hanley, 2004 and2011;Egger & Egger, 2006;Jabbour, 2010;Wagner, 2011;Schwörer, 2013) find some positive connection between productivity and outsourcing, though often this is limited to specific kind of firms or to the outsourcing of services, and to international outsourcing. However, other authors report no significant connection between outsourcing and a firm's performance (Gilley & Rasheed, 2000;Laugen et al, 2005) or any negative effect.…”

International Outsourcing and Productivity Growth

“…For instance, Broedner et al (2009) only look at the relationship between material inputs and productivity. Tomiura (2007) and Wagner (2011) only use a general measure of international outsourcing (i.e. outsourcing to foreign suppliers not distinguished by the type of activity).…”