Identification and analysis of outsourcing risks of research and development projects in Isfahan Marine Industries Organization

Dissertation for Master's Degree (M.A)

Public Administration Department

Abstract

Globalization causes companies and organizations to act in a more effective way in product development, because due to continuous changes and the emergence of complex technologies, intense competition has formed to achieve opportunities. Therefore, preparing to provide a faster response in order to benefit from opportunities is one of the basic challenges of organizations and companies in this era. This fact regarding organizations that are based on knowledge and technology has made research and development in these organizations one of the main factors for achieving opportunities and survival in the field of global competition. Nowadays, research and development organizations have no choice but to create flexible structures and also benefit more from extensive facilities outside the organization to use the opportunities. Undoubtedly, responding to these developments requires new solutions and methods. One of these solutions is outsourcing, which is gaining a wider scope every day, so that in recent years, the tendency to outsource research and development has been welcomed by organizations. Considering that outsourcing has many benefits, but not having a scientific approach and methodology in this method has increased the risk of outsourced projects. These risks can lead to the loss of competitive advantages and push the organization to the brink of destruction. In this way, reducing and minimizing the adverse effects of risks in the outsourcing of research and development projects is essential and is the most basic reason for organizations to implement the risk management process. In this research, research and development outsourcing and its risks are investigated and with the case study of Isfahan Marine Industries Organization, the risks of outsourcing research and development projects are identified and analyzed, and preventive solutions are provided to control or reduce its risks. It is hoped that the results of this research can be used as a guide document for organizations that decide to outsource research and development projects.

Key words: research and development, outsourcing, risk identification, risk analysis. And organizations to develop products and processes in a more effective way, because due to the existence of continuous changes and the emergence of complex technologies and new products, fierce competition has been formed to achieve opportunities. (King Bo[1], 2008)

Therefore, preparing to provide a faster response in order to benefit from opportunities is one of the basic challenges of organizations and companies in this era. (Thaghafi et al., 2017)

This fact regarding organizations that are based on knowledge and technology has made research and development in these organizations one of the main factors to achieve opportunities and survive in the field of global competition. (Shabli, 1375)

Nowadays research and development organizations have no choice but to create flexible structures and also benefit more from extensive facilities outside the organization to take advantage of opportunities. (Mir Emadi, 1388)

Movement from industrial society to information society, from national economy to global economy, from centralization to decentralization and finally from hierarchical structure to network system are clear signs of fundamental changes in today's environment. (Bius and Armonatis[2], 2011)

Undoubtedly, responding to these developments requires new solutions and solutions. One of these solutions is outsourcing, which is gaining a wider scope every day, so that in recent years, the tendency to outsource research and development has been welcomed by organizations. (Hajji, 1386)

Given that the use of outsourcing leads to cost reduction, increased flexibility, focus on core competences and faster access to new technologies and technologies, but not having a scientific approach and methodology in this method has increased the risk of outsourced projects. (Obert et al. [3], 1999)

These risks can lead to the loss of competitive advantages and push the organization to the brink of destruction and sometimes turn into a disaster.(Cheshambrah and Mir Mohammad Sadeghi, 2014)

In this way, reducing and minimizing the adverse effects of risks in the outsourcing of research and development projects is essential and is the most basic reason for organizations to implement the risk management process. (Jing Dong et al.[4], 2010)

In this research, the outsourcing of research and development and its risks are examined and with a case study of a research and development organization, the risks of outsourcing research and development projects are identified and analyzed, and preventive solutions are presented to control or reduce its risks. The guide should be used to identify and manage the outsourcing risks of these projects.

1-2- Statement of the problem

One of the distinctive features of the third millennium and in other words the "Information Age" is the increasing speed and rapid acceleration of environmental changes. This rapid movement has also affected the business world today and has transformed the traditional paradigms of trade and business.

Today, issues such as increasing competitive pressures, business difficulties, resource limitations, technological complexities and more specialized work, acceleration of environmental changes, uncertainty about the future, increased costs, the excessive size of some organizations, especially in the public sector, as well as legal restrictions have caused Organizations should reconsider their management model and turn to new strategies to achieve competitive advantages in the current business world.

One of these strategies is to focus on core competencies and leave many activities to resources outside the organization (outsourcing). To today's diverse demands, outsourcing strategies have been used as an efficient tool by many leading organizations.

This dynamic and restless environment requires that today's organizations undergo fundamental changes in their structures and strategies compared to the past. In fact, today's organizations are moving towards (network-centeredness) or in other words, behavior in the form of (small core-big network).

In this way, organizations choose limited activities to do their work and leave the rest of their activities to the large network of suppliers outside the organization.

Strategic cost reduction, improvement of service or product quality, increase of customer satisfaction, improvement Performance, increasing effectiveness, improving responsiveness and increasing flexibility in the face of market fluctuations and diverse customer demands, freeing up resources to focus on the key capabilities of the organization. It is one of the reasons that lead organizations to outsource activities.

Outsourcing is a powerful tool that, if used correctly, can bring success to the organization in the field of commercial competition, but if this powerful tool is not used carefully and thoughtfully, not only will none of the expected benefits be achieved, but it will also cause irreparable damages to the organization's interests.

Compared to doing work in the organization, outsourcing requires more informed and intelligent decision-making, because any mistake in advancing this strategy can put the organization in danger.

In outsourcing decisions, besides strategic issues, cost and profit considerations, financial evaluation, efficiency and risk dimensions in relation to the quality of the supplier, the reliability of lead times and delivery are also considered. When all these factors are considered together, the decision to outsource can be a very complex and sensitive decision that affects profitability and competitive success. A wrong decision can lead to high costs, loss of formats, customers and market share and even the decline of an organization.

Our country is also on the path of development, now it is on the verge of major changes, especially in the economic, commercial and industrial fields, and the emergence of new conditions, such as improving efficiency and accountability and expanding interaction with the international economy, will move the country towards economic liberalization, government organizations with rational sizes, development. Small and medium-sized companies in the private sector and the movement towards network-oriented organizations. This indicates the increasing expansion of outsourcing in our country, with the aim of achieving a new economic and industrial civilization.