A Multiple Case Study on Small and Mid-Size Enterprise Managers’ Lived Experiences on the Impact of Job Losses on Outsourcing Practices

Abstract

There is a greater need to understand how economic insecurities contribute to outsourcing practices. Previous research documented that small and medium-sized enterprises gained limited advantages from outsourcing. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study design was to explore the contribution of consumer job losses on outsourcing practices. A semi-structured open-ended interview was used to collect data from the 13 participants from the furniture, bedding, and wooden industries in Jamaica. From the analysis of the data collected, two themes emerge: (1) affordability and (2) market trends. The findings obtained from this research suggest that consumer job losses contributed to outsourcing practices. This knowledge might change current views on the factors that lead to outsourcing and the benefits of this strategy to manufacturing small and mid-size enterprise from developing countries. The results may also contribute to more informed macroeconomic policies. The following recommendations emerged from the findings: (a) utilize employment forecast to gauge production; (b) hedge prices for procured materials, and (c) quote selling price in primary outsourcing currency. Future research directed at SMEs managers’ lived experiences of a specific economic insecurity, additional manufacturing industries, and adopting different methodological designs could create a larger body of knowledge for comparisons.