The dissertation investigates the historical development of outsourcing as a means of cost optimization by enterprises, as well as enhancing their competitiveness. The specific features of outsourcing relationships that do not identify outsourcing relationships with similar relationships, in particular, supply and service relationships, are analyzed. The definition of outsourcing is formulated both economically and legally.
It is suggested to consider outsourcing relations as a contractual form of industrial cooperation, as well as a separate type of private partnership, which should be understood as a form of interaction of economic entities with the agreed implementation of their economic competence in accordance with their development strategies, implemented over a long period of time through successive and parallel conclusion of economic contracts aimed at realization of their mutual production cooperation to increase their competitiveness and share in the market of goods and services.
The existing criteria for distinguishing between the relevant types of outsourcing relationships are investigated and new ones are proposed.
The experience of the USA and the EU countries in regulating outsourcing relations arising in the process of carrying out economic activities is analyzed, as well as government policies regarding such relations as a powerful factor, which can have both positive and negative impact on the socio-economic situation in the country.
It is inexpedient to distinguish an outsourcing contract as a separate type of economic and legal contracts is justified. It is proposed to draw up outsourcing relations by concluding a system of contracts, namely the general contract and current contracts.
The corporate, investment and innovative components that can complicate outsourcing relationships are investigated. The corporate nature of the relationship may arise through the creation of a new enterprise or the acquisition of a stock of shares of an existing one. Basically, outsourcing relations based on a corporate basis, associated with the activities of holdings. An investment nature arises when the appropriate technology is transferred to existing products or equipment in order to obtain high-quality, but at the same time lower than the cost of products which is achieved using tax incentives and other factors of production in the country where the outsourcer is located.
The innovative nature of outsourcing relations is proposed to understand the transfer of technology (industrial design, know-how). The foreign economic nature of outsourcing relations is analyzed.
In the context of stimulating outsourcing relations, the feasibility of providing state assistance, the creation and implementation of outsourcing projects in the framework of public-private partnerships, as well as the creation of special business regimes for these projects are analyzed. A system of criteria is required to separate those outsourcing relationships that have public interest and should be supported by the state. These criteria are divided into three groups: requirements for the entity, requirements for products produced within such relationships, and requirements for the outsourcing relationships. The criteria for the entity are proposed to include such as the implementation of economic activity in the priority sector of the economy for the state; establishing partnership outsourcing relations with a foreign enterprise (TNCs – technological leaders); creating additional jobs by receiving additional orders. The requirements for products include the implementation of production using innovative technologies (transferred by the company-customer); production of products that are not available in the domestic market (innovative products). The requirements for the relations that arise between the outsourcer and the customer company – the availability of a corporate component; the prospect of strategic development of such relations; increase in the production function performed by outsourcers, long-term relationships; the prospect of increasing the value added of the company (national outsourcer) in the final output of the foreign customer company; the existence of a multiplier effect resulting from the economic activity of the entity (domestic outsourcer).
The opinion was expressed on the appropriateness of introducing into the legislation of Ukraine the construction of public-private partnerships, which is encouraged by the state, in which the state has no direct interest in the implementation of the outsourcing project, but is endowed with organizational and economic powers to stimulate projects of special public importance.
