MANAGEMENT OF OUTSOURCING: THEORETICAL ASPECTS

Abstract

The article explores the theoretical aspects of outsourcing management, justifies and summarizes existing approaches to the substantive concept of outsourcing. It emphasizes that the development of the global economy, modern technologies, and production approaches require effective management. The functioning of enterprises in modern conditions forces leaders and managers of various levels to make decisions to achieve expected results with minimal costs. Economic crises, recent COVID-19 pandemic, full-scale military invasion of Ukraine's territory, population migration, relocation of enterprises, etc., and as a result, destabilization of conventional economic processes, lead to the need for finding new management methods that will ensure cost minimization, optimization of resource utilization to satisfy the ever-growing consumer demands for quality goods or services. Currently, the need for applying innovative management methods and approaches based on sourcing and crowd technologies, such as outsourcing, crowdsourcing, etc., is becoming increasingly important. The update of economic management approaches should primarily align with modern requirements to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 8 – "Decent Work and Economic Growth," Goal 9 – "Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure," Goal 17 – "Partnerships for the Goals," and others. In the context of enhancing economic competitiveness, the introduction and development of outsourcing as a management tool seem beneficial. It will enable broader utilization of the skilled workforce's potential, reduction of financial, material, techno-technological costs, concentration on innovative approaches, reorganization, and rationalization of production. It is established that today, the management of leading global companies increasingly turns to outsourcing as a management tool; however, it has not gained significant popularity yet in Ukraine. The absence of theoretical knowledge and experience among domestic companies that would consistently and on a long-term basis employ outsourcing hinders its development in Ukraine. The existing definitions of the term "outsourcing" in domestic and foreign economic interpretations, the scientific work of economists, the theoretical aspects of outsourcing management have been examined, and certain approaches to the substantive content of outsourcing have been justified and summarized. Thus, it is substantiated that the concept of division of labor defines outsourcing as the process of transferring, delegating, performing certain functions, rights, and responsibilities to an external independent organization (outsourcer) on contractual terms, and the strategy of using outsourcing as a management tool involves the structural reorganization of production through the optimization of organization's functioning, which will ensure a focus on the key goal of a highly effective and competitive company. The authors formulate that outsourcing is a management tool that takes into account the organizational function of decision-making through the optimization of production by delegating authority, functions, and responsibility to an independent third-party organization on contractual terms, which will ensure a focus on the key goal of a highly effective and competitive company. It is proposed to dedicate further scientific research to studying the processes of outsourcing management in the field of information technology (IT), as it is the most demanded among young specialists and professionals.