Business Process Outsourcing and Firm Performance of Selected Real Estate Firms in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Today’s ever-increasing competitive environment requires firms to seek for better ways to create value. In the organization era, firms continue to face tougher competition in the business environment and business process outsourcing is a critical strategy that improves a firm’s competitive capabilities by delivering value to customers. Business process outsourcing has emerged as a widely adopted strategy among firms in various sectors. The general objective of the study was to establish the effect of business process outsourcing on organizational performance of real estate firms in Nairobi City County. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the effect of Information Technology Outsourcing, Knowledge Process Outsourcing, Administration Support Systems and Project Management Skills Outsourcing on performance of selected real estate firms in Nairobi City County. The study was founded on Transaction Cost Economics, Resource-Based View and Contingency Theory. The population of interest in this study comprised of 245 real estate firms in Nairobi City County registered in accordance with the Estate Agents Act while the respondents of the study comprised of the real estate manager. The study used primary data that was obtained using questionnaires administered to real estate firm managers. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences will be used qualitative and quantitative data analyses. The findings of the study showed that real estate firms in Nairobi City County outsource information technology outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing, administrative support systems outsourcing and project management skills to a great extent. The study concluded that Information Technology Outsourcing, Knowledge Process Outsourcing, Administration Support Systems and Project Management Skills Outsourcing positively and significantly influence performance of selected real estate firms in Nairobi City County. The study recommended that in order for real estate firms in Nairobi City County to improve their performance, there is need to outsource information communications and technology (ICT) infrastructure such as IT support services, software applications, computer network infrastructure, IT security infrastructure and IT training consultancy. The study also recommended real estate firms to outsource knowledge processes including managing performance and legal obligations, contract management and law, business and market research, building and research as well as research and development.

Methodological approach to evaluation of efficiency of it outsourcing

The aim of the article. When deciding on outsourcing, it is necessary to analyze the financial and organizational costs, without releasing from the analysis area the risks that arise when organizing the outsourcing of IT services. The lack of a full analysis in making this decision can instead of benefit cause significant losses. The purpose of the article is to develop methodological approaches to assessing the economic feasibility and effectiveness of the use of information technology outsourcing in the practice of domestic industrial enterprises. Analyses results. The article examines the existing scientific and methodological approaches to assessing the effectiveness of the use of information technology outsourcing in the production and commercial activities of industrial enterprises. Methodical recommendations for evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the IT outsourcing mechanism are formulated, which allows to determine the result of its implementation and the direction of its further development. Guidelines for deciding on IT outsourcing are proposed, the use of which is part of the decision-making process on the use of outsourcing in the enterprise and involves consistent implementation of measures to identify the business process for outsourcing to improve the quality and efficiency of delegated processes. A graphical comparative method for analyzing the effectiveness of decisions on the use of outsourcing by third-party companies and the practical implementation of the IT function by the company's own forces has been developed. The methodological approach to assessing the effectiveness of outsourcing management information systems in real business enterprises is sufficiently universal, as it takes into account the conceptual principles of outsourcing on the one hand and allows to adapt the structure of efficiency assessment depending on the complexity and cost of technologies used in business. enterprise, goals and scale of outsourcing. Conclusions and directions for further research. The proposed methodological approach allows to assess the economic efficiency of IT outsourcing to a greater extent in terms of economic justification of the management decision to accept services to IT outsourcers or perform them on their own. Graphoanalytical method for evaluating the effectiveness of outsourcing (Fig. 1) does not allow this. Its algorithm uses aggregated economic indicators (total costs, fixed costs, variable costs), the structure of which is not provided in the mechanism of using this method. Based on this, we consider as a direction of further development and research to develop guidelines for detailing these indicators in order to identify their components, to which the outsourcing company needs to pay special attention. Being based on the consideration of outsourcing as a process, the proposed approach has limitations that allow its application to assess the effectiveness of outsourcing only at a time when outsourcing is not yet implemented in practice. Additional research is needed to address this limitation.

A study on relational factors in information technology outsourcing: analyzing judgments of small and medium-sized supplying and contracting companies' managers

Purpose Understanding the relational factors in information technology outsourcing (ITO) processes is essential for managers to exercise successful governance over their relationship. Based on this premise, this paper aims to present a study about relational factors using judgments of managers from small and medium-sized supplying and contracting companies involved in ITO relationships, helping to understand the differences between what they believe to be relevant for maintaining the relationships. Design/methodology/approach The analytical approach consisted of applying fuzzy sets theory elements, converting the managers' judgments into crisp values through a defuzzification process, and the multicriteria method ELECTRE IV that created the rankings of the relational factors according to the defuzzified judgments. The approach was applied with 16 managers from supplying companies and 34 from contracting companies, in both cases located in a large Brazilian pole of information technology. Findings The main findings indicate that suppliers are initially more concerned with contractual aspects, being in the highest positions in the ranking: detailed contract, service level agreement and costs. Only after these elements, suppliers prioritize aspects less linked to the contract. For contractors, customer relationship management is the most important, followed by costs and commitment by managers, which indicates more openness to issues-oriented to relational development. Originality/value The approach adopted in this article is differentiated by prioritizing relational factors that are not always directly perceived in ITO relationships. Another important consideration is that most studies focus only on the perspective of supplier selection by contracting companies. In this paper, both suppliers' and contractors' judgments on the importance of ITO relational factors were analyzed, creating rankings that supported understanding the difference between the two perspectives.

THE INFLUENCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OUTSOURCING ON THE EFFICIENCY OF ENTERPRISES

In today's competitive environment, it is important to improve the activities of enterprises through the introduction of information technology outsourcing. The introduction of the latest developments and programs in the management and production activities of enterprises is the key to their success in the market, as it contributes to the rational use of resources, improving quality processes in enterprises. The main processes and trends in the functioning of the Ukrainian IT market are studied. It is established that the IT outsourcing sector will remain the main factor of positive changes in the near future and will increase the provision of services for both domestic needs and high-tech exports. The most developed sectors of IT outsourcing use are identified. The main problems of functioning of the IT sector, including outsourcing of information technologies, are revealed, and perspective directions of growth of the IT market are established. The direct and concomitant results of the use of information technology outsourcing for enterprises are determined. The necessity of state support for the development of information technology outsourcing and the introduction of the use of IT technologies in the activities of public authorities is substantiated.

Economia Clujului. Municipiul Cluj-Napoca și Zona Metropolitană Cluj:Dezvoltarea economiei locale în deceniul 2008-2018

În ultima decadă s-au intensificat procesele de globalizare care localizează procesele secundare ale organizațiilor globale către noi spații specializate în operațiuni (Peck 2018; Oshri, Kotlarsky, and Willcocks 2015). Cea mai mare parte din procesele care fac obiectul externalizărilor de outsourcing și offshoring sunt cele de Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) și Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) (Oshri, Kotlarsky, and Willcocks 2015).

Management Support Model for Information Technology Outsourcing

This study deals with the problem of outsourcing management, presenting a structure to support decision-making on effective information-technology outsourcing and highlighting the advantages and disadvantages that must be addressed. Since the study involves multiple variables, partially defined and conflicting objectives, and the will of decision-makers to broaden their understanding of the impact of decisions, the study used the multicriteria decision aid constructivist method to lead data collection and analysis. The chief results presented are: (i) a structured appraisal arranged by 8 strategic objectives and 107 performance indicators; (ii) the strengths and weaknesses of the status quo; and (iii) a process diagram for generating improvements. To ensure presentation of scientific and practical recognition in accordance with the constructivist path, the epistemological view adopted meets the scientific and practical requirements to ensure validity, legitimacy, and effectiveness of a model to support a decision-making process in a practical environment.