Outsourcing Choices Between Consciousness and Inconsciousness

The aim of this extended abstract is to highlight the role of unconsciuos factors in outsourcing relationships, in particular in strategic outsourcing, in which the activities, functions or processes outsourced are very close to the core-business of the firm, and highly significant from a value creation perspective. In these cases, the need of “relational competences” (caracterized by both consciuosness and unconsciousness) is very high, because of the impossibility to define accurately terms and conditions through a transaction-based approach, and because of the conseguent need for adopting a partnership-based approach. In fact, in strategic outsorcing relationships there is a need to go beyond the purely “contractual norms”, and search for “relational norms” to permit information exchange, flexible interaction and joint resolution of the problems. And it is precisely on this terrain that some cultural dimensions play a significant role, conditioning the decision makings’ choices even unconsciously.