How the past of outsourcing and offshoring is the future of post-pandemic remote work: A typology, a model and a review

Abstract

Information and communication technology (ICT) challenges traditional assumptions about the capacity to manage work beyond organizational and physical boundaries. A typology connects a variety of non-traditional work organizations made possible by ICT, including offshoring, outsourcing, remote work, virtual companies and platforms. A model illustrates how new technology serves as a proximate cause for a revision of social contracts between capital, labour and government reached through bargaining and how external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the institutional environment and limitations in practice influence how technology changes the organization of work. An historical case study of the New Deal Industrial Relations System illustrates the general features of the model for tackling major transformations in the organization of work. A review of the outsourcing and offshoring literature provides examples of how features of the model will potentially influence the future of post-pandemic remote work.