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Resumen
Este artículo analiza, en una muestra de 156 empresas españolas, los antecedentes de la externalización y su efecto conjunto (e interrelación) con otras dimensiones de flexibilidad en el trabajo sobre los resultados de la empresa. El análisis de ecuaciones estructurales contrasta las hipótesis de investigación para cada una de las tres categorías de actividades externalizadas según su nivel estratégico: bajo, medio o alto nivel estratégico. Los datos del estudio indican que existen diferencias en la explicación de los antecedentes de la externalización y en su impacto sobre los resultados, según el nivel estratégico de la actividad externalizada. El artículo discute las implicaciones directivas de las evidencias empíricas para las empresas que consideren decisiones de externalización y flexibilidad, y sugiere que la externalización podría reforzar el impacto de la flexibilidad interna en el trabajo sobre los resultados de la empresa.
Palabras clave:
Externalización
Flexibilidad
Estrategia de la empresa
Teorías organizativas
Abstract
This article analyses data from a sample of 156 Spanish firms to study the antecedents of outsourcing and the concurrent impact (and interrelationship) of outsourcing and other workplace flexibility dimensions on firm performance. Structural equation modelling tests the research hypotheses for each category of outsourcing activities: low-, medium- , and high-strategic outsourcing. The results of the study indicate that the antecedents and impact of outsourcing are different according to the strategic importance of outsourcing activities. The article discusses the managerial implications of the results for firms considering outsourcing and flexibility decisions, and suggest that outsourcing could reinforce the impact of internal workplace flexibility on firm performance.
Keywords:
Outsourcing
Flexibility
Firm strategy
Organisational theories
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