Outsourcing Coordination of Supplier Involvement in Collaborative Product Development Projects - A Risk Analysis

Sammanfattning: The automotive industry is in the midst of historic change: changing consumer preferences, new technologies and tougher sustainability requirements. Car manufacturers are forced to transform their businesses fundamentally while striking a balance between current needs and future opportunities. In recent years, collaborative product development has become an important business strategy as a means to respond to the changing market conditions. Despite many benefits, however, collaborations with suppliers place substantial pressure on the focal firm as joint efforts must be managed and coordinated carefully. The purpose of this thesis was to explore the feasibility of outsourcing coordination of supplier involvement in collaborative product development projects. The purpose was operationalized by a research question seeking to identify characteristic risk factors in the aforementioned outsourcing context. Thus, the thesis was built upon a theoretical foundation of the interface between collaborative product development, outsourcing and risk management theories. In the methodology, a multi-step research design was taken that included reviewing documents, observing participants as well as conducting interviews and workshops. The analysis yielded a comprehensive overview of relevant risk factors in outsourcing coordination of supplier involvement in collaborative product development projects. The outsourcing practice has proven to be inherently risky as a total of 10 different risk factors were identified and their characteristics assessed. The research has shown that both effective risk management strategies and adjustment to corporate regulations and policies are required if the outsourcing practice is to be implemented within the contextual setting studied in the thesis. The research findings have further contributed to the existing body of literature on relevant outsourcing risk factors.