RAPID: Offshoring in A Global Economic Crisis: Economic and Social Dynamics

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(Public Law 111-5)资助的。行业分析师预测，当前的全球经济危机将加速新产品开发(NPD)和软件开发等研发活动的离岸。企业利用开发活动创造新产品并将其推向市场，从而刺激经济增长。然而，开发过程的模块化使越来越多的此类活动能够离岸(和/或外包)以获得成本和市场优势。这种转变可能会对当前严重依赖创新来推动增长和创造新就业的刺激政策的成功构成威胁。因此，重要的是评估经济危机是否导致创新外包的急剧升级，如果是的话，评估其规模、范围和影响。该项目将复制2008年秋季对高科技公司进行的一项调查，当时恰好在当年第四季度经济急剧下滑之前，也是在2009年经济刺激计划通过之前很久。这项调查将在2009年秋季进行，使我们能够在经济衰退加深和外包压力增加的情况下捕捉离岸外包的影响。如果更多的公司如预期的那样转向这一选择，那么随着时间的推移，公司的比较将捕捉到经济衰退的具体影响。这项研究的学术价值在于，它将使人们能够更好地理解经济危机下离岸外包的动态。当前的危机创造了一个自然的实验，在这个实验中，公司可能会增加他们的使用或改变他们的离岸模式。通过回顾这些高科技公司，我们将能够确定经济低迷造成的重要转变，塑造这些转变的因素，以及对创新活动的影响。这项研究的更广泛影响源于这样一个事实，即高科技行业是经济趋势的领先指标，因此结果可能也表明，经济其他领域的离岸外包也发生了变化。了解这些趋势将为政策制定者和其他关注美国创新和经济表现的人提供重要的见解。

SES-0937493Kenneth L. KraemerJason L. DedrickUniversity of California, Irvine"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."Industry analysts predict that the current global economic crisis will speed up the offshoring of R&D such as new product development (NPD) and software development. Firms use development activities to create and bring new products to market, thereby stimulating economic growth. However, the modularity of the development process makes it possible to offshore (and/or outsource) more and more of these activities for cost and market advantage. Such shifts could be a threat to the success of current stimulus policies that rely heavily on innovation to drive growth and generate new jobs. It is important therefore to assess whether there is a sharp escalation in offshoring of innovation as a result of the economic crisis and, if so, the scale, scope and implications thereof. This project will replicate a survey of high-tech firms conducted in the fall of 2008, just before the steep economic decline of the fourth quarter of that year and well before the passage of the 2009 economic stimulus plan. The survey will be conducted in the fall of 2009 enabling us to capture offshoring effects as the recession has deepened and pressure for outsourcing has increased. Comparison of firms over time will capture the specific effects of the recession if more firms turn to this option as expected. The intellectual merit of the research is that it will enable better understanding of the dynamics of offshoring under economic crisis. The current crisis has created a natural experiment wherein firms may increase their use or change their pattern of offshoring. By going back to these hi-tech firms, we will be able to identify important shifts created by the downturn, the factors shaping these shifts, and the implications for innovative activity. The broader impact of the research stems from the fact that the high-tech industry is a leading indicator of economic trends, so the results may signal a change in offshoring in the rest of the economy as well. Understanding these trends will provide important insights for policymakers and others concerned with U.S. innovation and economic performance.