Publications Repository - Gdańsk University of Technology

This paper integrates ideas from modularity and path dependency to explain the potential for and limitations of the offshoring of high value added physician services. While not all medical services are amenable to offshoring, a growing number of physician activities can be viewed as modular components which, at least technically, could be performed remotely. As a result, the presumption that concerns for efficiency dictate how firms decide which activities to locate in other countries must be reconciled with complex path-dependent domestic healthcare regulatory frameworks. The paper begins with an overview of offshoring and outsourcing. Parts two and three examine how the ideas of path dependence and modularity can be used to explore both the opportunities in and the limitations of the offshoring of high value added physician services. Part four develops a framework that combines modularity and path dependency in assessing the firm ability to offshore medical services. The conclusion examines how these ideas can be extended to other markets.

Authors

• Martin Stack,
• dr Myles Gartland link open in new tab