Interne versus externe Leistungsabwicklung in Profit-Center-Organisationen — Ein Blick hinter die Kulissen

Summary Decentralization is a key element of recent restructuring and management concepts. Independent subunits offer their components, products or services to each other in internal markets competing against external suppliers by using transfer prices. The article elaborates on the emerging consequences to sourcing behaviour and supplier relations between profit centers based on the results of an empirical study. Though being independent large differences exist for profit centers in dealing with internal partners or external suppliers. The fact of belonging to the same company restricts their options of sanctioning unpleasant behaviour of internal partners in contrast to external suppliers. As a consequence managers hold the believe that relations with internal partners are much more complicated and less preferable than those with external partners. If companies do not want to give up synergies between their subunits they need to treat that problem by fostering communication and corporate culture in order to avoid dysfunctional effects.