The impact of outsourcing on small and medium sized enterprises (SME)

Outsourcing is defined that providing services from a specialized operator in the field, for skills and activities that are not among the basic skills of the business in general. Today, outsourcing is of great importance for small and medium-sized businesses, especially those who want to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage over their competitors, focusing on their core competencies and activities.With this way, the aim of this study is to examine outsourcing in small-and-medium-sized businesses. In the first part of the study, theorical roof of outsourcing has been created the framework for Resource Dependence Theory, Transaction Cost Theory and Resource Based Approach. In the second part of the study, a conceptual framework has been drawn about outsourcing and the use of outsourcing in small-and-medium-sized businesses has been given. In the research part of the study, 30 firms that use outsourcing (10 firms) and do not use outsourcing (20 firms) has been evaluated whether or not the differentiate each other with regard to business size and sector. As a result of the findings from the research; It has been seen that small-and-medium-sized businesses which use outsourcing or not have differentiated each other in terms of sector and business size. In addition, small-and-medium-sized business which use outsourcing have differentiated each other in terms of the reasons for outsourcing, advantages/disadvantages of outsourcing, outsourcing fields, outsourcing levels and outsourcing times. Keywords: Outsourcing, Resourced Based Theory, Transaction Cost Theory, Resource Dependence Theory, small-and-medium-sized businesses