Managing outsourcing to develop business: Goal interdependence for sharing effective business practices in China

Outsourcing partners have the potential to learn from each other by discussing effective practices and to use these discussions to improve their business performance. However, there are significant barriers to trusting, open, and integrative communication. Results from 95 largely domestic outsourcing partnerships in China support the hypotheses that cooperative, but not competitive or independent, goals are a foundation upon which partners share their effective practices openly and directly with each other and that this kind of discussion promotes improved business results. Specifically, the structural equation analysis supported the reasoning that cooperative goals foster open discussion of effective practices that, in turn, results in business development. Findings were interpreted as providing support that cooperative interdependence is a foundation for effective interaction and learning between outsourcing partners in China and perhaps in other countries as well.