Make, Buy or Ally? Theoretical Perspectives on Knowledge Process Outsourcing through Alliances
提出知识流程外包是“制造还是联盟”的决策，而非传统的“制造还是购买”，并构建了一个整合资源整合与交易特性的模型，帮助企业保护并利用战略知识资产。
abstract Outsourcing knowledge and innovation activities offer cost savings and superior performance, but can also put a firm's unique resources and capabilities at risk. Characterizations of outsourcing as a make‐or‐buy decision do not fit well with decisions on knowledge process outsourcing (KPO). KPO is a make‐or‐ally decision, as firms seek a governance structure that will both protect and leverage their strategic knowledge assets, with the final decision often coming down to a choice between different alliance forms. Our new conceptualization provides an integrated perspective on resource integration and transaction specificity in the knowledge governance decision. The model illustrates the dynamics and learning involved in knowledge outsourcing by identifying two distinct paths to KPO alliances.