A Domain-specific Modeling Technique for Value-driven Strategic Sourcing

Strategic sourcing recognizes that procurement should support a firm’s effort to achieve its long-term objectives. In particular, procurement needs to be a cross-functional end-to-end process inside the organization that is oriented towards value creation within the company and between the company and its partners in the value chain. The main challenge to the implementation of value-driven strategic sourcing is the lack of instruments that are characterized by analytical rigor and robustness in the identification of strategic sourcing options to achieve strategic goals. Therefore, this research aims to develop a domain-specific modeling technique founded on the Service-Dominant Logic which focuses on the systemic exploration of sourcing alternatives and emphasizes the delivery of value to achieve desired outcomes. This paper reports on a first cycle of Design Science Research which includes the demonstration and the evaluation of the value and utility of the modeling artefacts by means of a case study about IT outsourcing in the healthcare industry.