Outsourcing Strategies Adopted by Telecommunication Vendor Companies in Kenya

Abstract

The rise in globalization has compelled companies to become more competitive. Outsourcing the non core business processes has become a major source of competitive advantage lately. Companies finding an edge in competitiveness are going for outsourcing. This research is aimed at studying the outsourcing strategies that have been adopted by various equipment vendor companies in the telecommunication industry in Kenya. To achieve the research purpose, five telecommunication equipment Vendor companies were selected for the study. Research questionnaires were sent to 30 employees in these organizations of which 26 responded leading to 87% response rate. The study found out that all the telecommunication vendor companies outsourced work. Outsourcing non core activities was the major reason for outsourcing. Outsourcing partners were found to be both local companies and others out of the country. It was found that the choice for formulating the strategy for outsourcing and selection of outsourcing partner is a challenging task and needs to be molded to the situation of the company. While outsourcing is a way to be cost effective and to maximize business performance, it also presents new management challenges such as continuous competency improvement. Lastly, the participating companies were all in full agreement regarding the benefits that outsourcing gave their productivity and overall business operations