Start Date
11-8-2016
Description
What will the future of U.S. based employment look like? The answer to this may lie in understanding the labor sourcing options that are now available to organizations. In this paper, we introduce a conceptual model that views automation, offshoring, and contingent labor as a portfolio of interconnected labor sourcing options within an organization. This paper makes three contributions to the literature on the changing nature of work. First, we delineate between technological complementariness and technological substitution to view automation as a true labor sourcing mechanism. Second, we show that the concurrent phenomenon of offshoring, automation, and contingent labor sourcing are interconnected when viewed from the perspective of a labor-sourcing portfolio. Third, we strongly posit that short-term profit maximization goals are the primary motivations for modern day labor sourcing decisions within organizations. We present a series of testable propositions and propose a research agenda for the labor-sourcing model.
Recommended Citation
Avery, Atiya; Tafti, Ali; and Watson-Manheim, Mary Beth, "IT-Enabled Labor Sourcing: A Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda" (2016). AMCIS 2016 Proceedings. 31.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2016/ITProj/Presentations/31
IT-Enabled Labor Sourcing: A Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda
What will the future of U.S. based employment look like? The answer to this may lie in understanding the labor sourcing options that are now available to organizations. In this paper, we introduce a conceptual model that views automation, offshoring, and contingent labor as a portfolio of interconnected labor sourcing options within an organization. This paper makes three contributions to the literature on the changing nature of work. First, we delineate between technological complementariness and technological substitution to view automation as a true labor sourcing mechanism. Second, we show that the concurrent phenomenon of offshoring, automation, and contingent labor sourcing are interconnected when viewed from the perspective of a labor-sourcing portfolio. Third, we strongly posit that short-term profit maximization goals are the primary motivations for modern day labor sourcing decisions within organizations. We present a series of testable propositions and propose a research agenda for the labor-sourcing model.