Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to assess the current state of outsourcing practices in Nigerian oil and gas industry and examine the impacts of technology on firm’s geographical scope of outsourcing operations.

Design/Methodology/Approach – A mixed method approach involving a combination of questionnaire and semi-structure interview. The data collected provides a cross-sectional study of 200 oil and gas companies with senior level managers and supply chain experts as the respondents. We have asked the respondents to provide their own perception on how technological capabilities have impacted their organisational outsourcing practices and performance.

Finding - The research revealed that there are many beneficiary roles of technology in outsourcing practices in terms of driving new business concepts and performance.

Originality/Value – This paper is different from other previous studies in outsourcing industries that focused on discrete manufacturing whereas the oil and gas sector is process oriented and offer a different operational environment for outsourcing practices. There is also limited literature that explained the impacts of technology on outsourcing practices in a developing economy.

Practical/theoretical applications – The results could be used by outsourcing organisations as a decision support enabler in processing the value of their intellectual assets in making strategic and tactical decision and sharing problems effectively.

Key words: Technology, Outsourcing, Oil and gas, Nigeria.

Reference

Andrew, G et al., (2013), ‘’ Differences in outsourcing strategies between firms in emerging and in developed markets’’, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 33 1ss 3 pp. 296 – 321

Luca, U et al., (2014), ‘’The resilience of energy supply chains: a multiple case study approach on oil and gas supply chain in Europe,’’ Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 19 1ss 1 pp. 46 - 63

Sara, H and Bjorn, A (2013), ‘’Application of performance measurement as an early warning system’’, International Journal of Management projects in Business, Vol. 6 1ss 4 pp. 714 – 738

Sankalp, P (2014), ‘’ Towards a framework for performing outsourcing capability’’, Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, Vol. 7 1ss 3 pp. 226 – 252

Acknowledgement

Nnamdi J. Ogbuke is currently a PhD research student and a Tutor with Lancashire Business School, University of Central Lancashire Preston UK. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Chemistry from Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Nigeria and Master of arts degree in Business Administration (MBA) from University of East London. He has written book, article and conference papers that are undergoing review for publication.  Before his PhD study, he   worked for 5 years as a chemical analyst with Xechem Pharmaceutical Incorporation USA, a phytopharmaceutical Industry that pioneered a sickle cell anaemia drug in Nigeria.  Mr. Nnamdi has worked with Mark and Spencer Plc for two years as a shopfloor supervisor.

Professor Yahaya Yusuf is the Director of the Institute of Logistics and Operations Management at Lancashire Business School, University of Central Lancashire. His main research interests are in agile manufacturing, supply chain agility, sustainable operations and supply chains and decision support systems. He has published in a number of well-established journals including the International Journal of Operations and Production Management, International Journal of Production Economics, and European Journal of Operational Research. His research has been supported by grants from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) and industry. He serves on the international advisory boards of a number of academic conferences. He was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Agile Systems and Management and currently on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, Benchmarking: An International Journal and a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College.