OUTSOURCING AS A FORM OF INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF GLOBAL CORPORATIONS ON EU MARKETS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the issues of determining the essence of outsourcing as a form of increasing the competitiveness of global corporations, as well as defining the specifics of the application of outsourcing activities on EU markets. The definition of outsourcing as a process based on the social division of labor, the transfer of certain functions and/or business processes to an external organization (outsourcer) on the contract basis in order to reduce costs and concentrate on the main types of activity, is substantiated. The reasons for the use of this tool in the practice of global corporations are defined. The main macroeconomic factors influencing the development of the business process outsourcing market such as globalization, international competition and technological development, are substantiated. The specifics, scope and trends of the development of the global outsourcing market are analyzed. It is proved that the traditional segmentation of this market into business process outsourcing and information technology outsourcing is losing its significance, since the corresponding segments overlap each other. It is substantiated that the key technologies that determine the modern vector of development of international outsourcing are advanced achievements in the field of process automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data analytics. The structure of the global outsourcing services market by region is reviewed, in which North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region play a leading role. The significant growth of the European business process outsourcing market is emphasized. It is found that the key factor in such growth is support by government programs for digital transformation in various sectors of the European economy, including banking, financial services and insurance, healthcare and defense. It is substantiated that this stimulates global corporations to implement modern technologies integrated into business process outsourcing services to increase the productivity and efficiency of their enterprises. It is shown that for global corporations in Western Europe, the countries of Southern and Eastern Europe are particularly attractive places for outsourcing, mainly due to significantly lower prices for highly qualified and reliable bilingual personnel.