Service Offshoring Industry: Systems Engineering Approach to Its Transitional Challenges

The thesis addresses the concepts of business process offshoring and international service transfers. For the last few decades, this industry has been advancing worldwide, and in the past few years, its rapid development has been observed in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The multiple opportunities organizations see in such corporate transformations come not only from the possibility of reducing operational costs and taking advantage of foreign talent pools, but also from the focus on continuous improvement and process optimization that can enhance operational efficiency.

The work follows the general scientific design with interpretive and positivist approaches.It applies mixed research methods, among which we can mention literature and legal topics review, qualitative analysis, statistical analysis and case study (with the use ofsimulation, ‘six thinking hats’, ‘scamper’ and brainstorming).

The dissertation aims at applying systems engineering approach to the analysis of challenges identified at different stages of service offshoring transitions, by understanding problem design structure and responding to the most problematic issues with sustainable solutions. It shall constitute conceptual basis for approaching andbuilding operational systems for various offshore business applications. The thesis discusses the solution reaching process and suggests the newly developed problem solving method. It presents the phases, design tracks and key stakeholders of transitionprojects that are supposed to migrate operational tasks from one organization to another located in a different country.

What is more, the study aims at identification and analysis of factors motivating offshoring investments in CEE region, from the perspective of service vendor and client. It conducts comparative analysis of five CEE countries that are direct competitors toPoland. Finally, it touches the specific kind of offshored operations which is the offshoring of higher education, and sheds the light on the differences between standardbusiness offshoring and offshore university ventures.