Offshoring satisfaction: The role of partnership credibility and cultural complementarity

Suboptimal satisfaction levels often exist among offshoring partners. Studies suggest that cultural differences may play a role. Many, however, continue to offer surface-level culture-based associations, with little attention paid to underlying processes. Offshoring's recent focus on higher-order goals – such as innovation, flexibility, and strategic concerns – suggests the need for a comprehensive framework with a stronger understanding of relationships, how they are assessed, and how culture influences this process. Thus, we hope to inform the offshoring literature by developing an offshoring model that is firmly grounded in theory and rich enough to illustrate how, when, and why culture affects offshoring partnerships.