University of Twente Student Theses
The delivery mode : the effect of differentiation in needs and strength of coupling
Rosink, R. (2014) The delivery mode : the effect of differentiation in needs and strength of coupling.
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| Abstract: | Since the nineties the number of Shared Service Centers (SSC) have risen in the Netherlands, echoing the United States. The main goal of the SSC is reducing redundancies by combining the benefits of centralized and decentralized organizational designs, combining the best of both worlds (Janssen and Joha, 2006). However poor designs of the SSC can cause costs to increase and the quality to decrease. In this study design rules used for designing product platforms and managing product families are tested in a service delivery setting. According to Martin and Ishii (2002) two important design rules in platform design are the GVI (General Variety Index) and the CI (Coupling Index). Hofman and Meijerink (in press) already tested the moderating effect of the GVI, conceptualized as differentiation in needs of HR activities, on the relationship between the delivery mode (sharing or not sharing) and the perceived value of HR activities. In this study the research of Hofman and Meijerink (in press) is repeated for support activities, however we also tested the CI conceptualized as the strength of coupling. According to the theory used in our theoretical framework we assume a moderating affect of differentiation in needs and strength of coupling on the relationship between the delivery mode and the perceived value of support activities. Support activities with a high differentiation in needs and/or a high strength of coupling should be performed in a non-shared delivery mode (embedded in the business units) to create the highest perceived value. While support activities with a low differentiation in needs and/or strength of coupling are assumed to create the highest service value if these support activities are performed in a shared delivery mode (inter- or intra-organizational). The research did not find empirical evidence that the relationship between the delivery mode and the perceived value of support activities is contingent on the differentiation in needs and strength of coupling of support activities. To go short no clear and grounded advice for reaching the highest perceived value can be given to the decision makers of the case company on sharing or not sharing specific support activities with a differentiation in needs and a strength of coupling. We did find empirical evidence that the strength of coupling is negatively correlated to the perceived value of support activities. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 85 business administration, organizational science |
| Programme: | Business Administration MSc (60644) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/66402 |
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