Dr. Anitesh Barua of McCombs School of Business visits campus
Sept 12, 2009

Dr. Anitesh Barua, Director of the MBA - Information Management programme at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin (UTA), visited SPJIMR. Dr. Barua intended to explore possibilities of academic collaboration between SPJIMR and UTA. He is William F. Wright Centennial Professor of Information Technology, Stevens Piper Foundation Professor and Associate Director for the Center for Research in Electronic Commerce at the McCombs School of Business at UTA. He received many awards for his research and teaching. 75 of his research articles have appeared in prestigious academic journals, refereed conference proceedings and edited book chapters. Dr. Barua made a presentation on "Deconstructing or Destroying Your Value Chain through Outsourcing".

Dr. Barua explained how the focus of Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) has evolved from pure cost savings to diverse strategic objectives. He opined that strategic outsourcing, which is characterized by higher levels of business uncertainty and complex coordination involves greater contractual risks compared with transaction outsourcing. He also talked about how the capital markets may not be privy to such information when an outsourcing decision is announced, and hence there may be long-term abnormal returns fromsuch outsourcing decisions.

Dr. Barua concluded that outsourcing deals of the 'one-sizefits- all kind' do not work. To make an outsourcing relationship successful, a firms need to understand the governance choices available and customize them keeping in mind the complexity, independence and the strategic importance of the tasks to be outsourced.