A Victoria University of Wellington professor will provide insights from over 25 years of research into how information technology has changed the way we view and work in organisations, in his upcoming inaugural lecture.

 Professor of Information Systems, Benoit Aubert, says the trend of organisations contracting some of their services to an overseas supplier or opening their own offshore branch (offshoring) or contracting local suppliers for aspects of their business (outsourcing), has led to changes in the way that organisations are defined and how they innovate.

 “Outsourcing in recent years has challenged our understanding of supply chain, country of origin and business relationships,” he says. “For instance, supply chains are becoming very difficult to track. Labels telling you what country a product is made in simply refer to the last step of production but do not reflect reality. Almost everything we buy has been manufactured in multiple steps, in numerous different countries.”

 Professor Aubert will discuss challenges that managers need to consider when transferring part of their business activities overseas. “Relentless market pressure increases companies’ use of outsourcing and offshoring to lower costs. Offshore activities are especially difficult to monitor. This makes it more difficult to always adhere to socially responsible practice and can lead to reputational damage. Companies are at risk of seeing their product and image associated with questionable practices.”

 It is harder to maintain control in such a decentralised environment, Professor Aubert says. At the same time, the trend is unescapable. “Managers need to identify ways to innovate at a much faster pace than before. To do this they need the knowledge and skills of outside partners. This creates a more complex environment.

 “It’s important that managers keep a broad view of their company’s activities, including what’s happening in other countries, and monitor and track everything to ensure that the organisation is agile and able to handle unforeseen issues.

 “It also makes sense to build a network of experts and supporters in advance of anything going wrong, as well as work on building a good reputation via channels such as social media.”

 Professor Aubert is Head of Victoria’s School of Information Management. He has been researching outsourcing, productivity and innovation, risk management, and new forms of organisation for over 25 years and his research has been widely published. He has a long record of collaboration with both private and public organisations, leading to some of his research results in risk management being commercialised.