BUSINESS RESEARCH

Business Research Report: Outsourcing at RIMS

Table of Contents

Introduction2

Industry Effects on IT Outsourcing3

RIM's Global Expansion3

Top Competitors4

Characteristics of RIM inviting Outsourcing5

Smartphone Domination5

Positive trends in the tablets market6

Increased adoption of cloud computing6

Enterprise niche provides a favorable competitive environment7

Strong brand recognition7

Focus on research and development8

Characteristics of RIM against outsourcing8

Market share losses8

Glitches in product launches9

Patent infringement claims9

Intense competition erodes RIM's competitive advantages10

Rapid technological changes and short life cycles11

Litigation12

Conclusion13

Works Cited15

Appendix17

Business Research Report: Outsourcing at RIMS

Introduction

Considerable amount of research investigates the strategic, technological and economic benefits of business outsourcing, including reduced operation costs, better technological competence and remarkable competitive edge (Miller 2011). Many studies have investigated the factors that either facilitate or impede the use of outsourcing. Various factors play an important role in determining outsourcing utilization, including business and cost structures, internal competence, transaction costs, knowledge gained from vendors, cost advantages of vendors, and spatial distance (Bharadwaj 169-196). To date, the majority of research on outsourcing has emphasized internal antecedents within specific firms.

In contrast, limited attention has been paid to the changes in industry dynamics on the use of outsourcing in technology and research oriented firms, and the underdeveloped literature has revealed mixed results (Mawston 2010). For example, research says that the industry concentration can have a positive, neutral, or negative effect on outsourcing usage (Flosi 2011). There is still a need for additional research to enhance our understanding of this area, companies like RIM must direct considerations into this area. In the subsequent sections of this report, I present an in depth analysis of the key strengths and opportunities for RIM, a high-tech Canadian company with extensive IT products and services (Palmer 2009). In particular, I investigate whether the company may move towards outsourcing as a viable option for business growth and sustainability.

Industry Effects on IT Outsourcing

While empirical evidence suggests that industrial environment plays crucial role in determining a firm's strategic decision, less research examines the impact that industry environments have on outsourcing utilization. Moreover, the literature indicates that the notion of industry environments has been conceptualized in a variety of ways across studies. Some have focused on product characteristics (goods versus services), whereas others have delved into the importance of IT in a given industry.

For facilitating and comparing the research on the subject, we may organize studies according to the approaches they take on in the context of industry environment conceptualizations. These studies can be grouped into three fundamental approaches for the conceptualization of industry environments. The first group of studies divides industries into two classifications—manufacturing and service (Leiblein and Miller 839-859).

The basis behind this classification is that service firms cannot employ IT outsourcing on a level compared to manufacturing firms (The Econonmic Times 2011). However, this view is not empirically supported. Increasing number of companies in the service sector have opted outsourcing for one reason or another. In the next section, I discover how RIM's global expansion sends it into a dominant position for outsourcing.

RIM's Global Expansion

Research In Motion's global presence expanded substantially over the past years as ...