Does Distance Hinder Coordination? Identifying and Bridging Boundaries of Offshored Work

We submit that offshoring research focused mostly about an empirical phenomenon and extending our understanding about it, rather than expanding our understanding of the underlying theory as illuminated by empirical evidence. To theoretically frame the implications of offshoring strategy and practice for organizational design, this paper centers on the interplay between coordination and geographical distance. Distance strains the traditional approaches to coordination – i.e. decomposability and communication – as it impacts on knowledge boundaries created by the decomposition scheme. This increases the inherent complexity of the international division and coordination of innovative labor and knowledge and calls for new organizational practices.