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International Workshop on Global Sourcing of Information Technology and Business Processes

Global Sourcing 2010: Global Sourcing of Information Technology and Business Processes pp 26–42Cite as

Strategic Sourcing of R&D: The Determinants of Success

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 55))

Abstract

The outsourcing of the R&D function is an emerging practice of corporate firms. In their attempt to reduce the increasing cost of research and technology development, firms are strategically outsourcing the R&D function or repositioning their internal R&D organisation. By doing so, they are able to benefit from other technology sources around the world. So far, there is only limited research on how firms develop their R&D sourcing strategies and how these strategies are implemented. This study aims to identify which determinants contribute to the success of R&D sourcing strategies. The results of our empirical research indicate that a clear vision of how to manage innovation strategically on a corporate level is a determinant of an effective R&D strategy. Moreover, our findings revealed that the R&D sourcing strategy influences a firm’s sourcing capabilities. These sourcing capabilities need to be developed to manage the demand as well as the supply of R&D services. The alignment between the demand capabilities and the supply capabilities contributes to the success of R&D sourcing.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Strategy, Marketing and International Business, Maastricht School of Management, The Netherlands

    Jacques W. Brook

  2. Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

    Albert Plugge

Authors
  1. Jacques W. Brook
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  2. Albert Plugge
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rotterdam School of Management, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Ilan Oshri

  2. Warwick Business School, Coventry, UK

    Julia Kotlarsky

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Brook, J.W., Plugge, A. (2010). Strategic Sourcing of R&D: The Determinants of Success. In: Oshri, I., Kotlarsky, J. (eds) Global Sourcing of Information Technology and Business Processes. Global Sourcing 2010. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 55. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15417-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15417-1_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-15416-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-15417-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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