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Industrialized world‐based healthcare providers are increasingly off‐shoring low‐end healthcare services such as medical transcription, billing and insurance claims. High‐skill medical jobs such as tele‐imaging and tele‐pathology are also being sub‐contracted to developing countries. Despite its importance, little theory or research exists to explain what factors affect industry growth. The article's goals, therefore, are to examine economic processes associated with developing economies' shift from low‐ to high‐value information technology enabled healthcare services, and to investigate how these differ in terms of legitimacy from regulative, normative and cognitive institutions in the sending country and how healthcare services differ from other services.

This research is conceptual and theory‐building. Broadly, its approach can be described as a positivistic epistemology.

Anti off‐shoring regulative, normative and cognitive pressures in the sending country are likely to be stronger in healthcare than in most business process outsourcing. Moreover, such pressures are likely to be stronger in high‐value rather than in low‐value healthcare off‐shoring. The findings also indicate that off‐shoring low‐value healthcare services and emergent healthcare industries in a developing economy help accumulate implicit and tacit knowledge required for off‐shoring high‐value healthcare services.

The approach lacks primary data and empirical documentation.

The article helps in understanding industry drivers and its possible future direction. The findings help in understanding the lens through which various institutional actors in a sending country view healthcare service off‐shoring.

The article's value stems from its analytical context, mechanisms and processes associated with developing economies' shift to high‐value healthcare off‐shoring services.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the status, drivers, and barriers to data governance at the health professional regulatory authorities in Kenya. This study aims to develop a model that can be used to establish a formal data governance program at these regulatory authorities.

This study used data governance decision areas based on the study of Khatri and Brown (2010). Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in this study to collect data.

This paper identified maintenance of quality of data, achieving customer satisfaction, ensuring data security and control, and achieving operational efficiency as the drivers of data governance at the regulatory authorities. The authorities are faced with lack of data governance awareness, lack of management ownership and support, as well as limited funding and resource allocations as barriers to data governance. This study proposed that for the authorities to increase their data governance, they need to identify their data as an asset, initiate more data quality management mechanism, restrict access to their data, create awareness, and increase management, ownership and support.

A data governance program for healthcare workforce data is necessary for healthcare planning which influences national policy in the healthcare and the overall delivery of health services in a country.

The paper proposes a model that health professional regulators in developing countries that are facing limited resources can be used to establish a formal data governance program.

This study aims to investigate the pattern and sequence growth or changes in formulating policy strategy.

In order to get an accurate information, in this study using rapid rural appraisal method (RRA). RRA is a method with participatory approach to obtain data/information and assessments, generally in the field in a relatively short time.

The result of index multiplier effect analysis in the rubber development region in 2010 was 1.83. In 2014 it dropped to 0.65. The conditions show decline in the rubber farming in the countryside. Natural rubber and its derivatives are believed to spur regional economic growth and be able to improve income distribution and poverty alleviation through employment. Institutional arrangement with the concept of natural rubber farming sustainability-based natural rubber (ABKA) provides two effects: first, the direct effect, i.e. the concept of ABKA provides direct benefits to the parties involved in the business. Second, indirect effects, namely, the concept of ABKA, provides benefits to the parties who are not directly involved in the company.

Originality of this paper shows that a participatory approach used in this research is an RRA and the location of the research is Riau, Indonesia, both of which have not been studied earlier.

The purpose of this paper is to update an article written by the author in the Harvard Business Review almost 50 years ago.

The paper evaluates the present status of the phenomena of modularity (for both product and service components). This is done by reviewing all existing literature on multitudinous facets of the subject and discussing applications with practitioners.

Modularity remains a splintered concept, perhaps because so many different types of application exist. Heterogeneity stymies systemization. Nevertheless, successful applications exist. This International Journal of Operations & Production Management, dedicated to modularity, testifies to significant facets of accomplishment and continued challenges (e.g. optimum shoe sizing and modular construction). Also, production managers have not become boardroom planners (as was expected 45 years ago). Potential cost savings of modularity do not occur because off‐shoring provided another way to dramatically lower production costs – albeit at the expense of quality problems.

All management functions participate in modularity issues. Though marketing does not thrive in a commodity‐environment, it has not advocated modularity as a way to offset commoditization nor as a means of improving quality. Finance has been the cheer leader for off‐shore decisions, but a tipping point may be in sight (i.e. recognizing the hidden costs of off‐shore seduction).

If mass customization, using modularity, develops economic clout, it is likely that production will switch from overseas to domestic bases. The impact on domestic economies will be significant.

The link between modularity and off‐shoring needs to be recognized, researched, and discussed.

The past three decades have seen the transformation of manufacturing involving its global dispersion and fragmentation. However, a number of recent developments appear to suggest that manufacturing may be entering a new era of flux that will impact the configuration of production around the globe. The purpose of this paper is to address the major emerging themes that may shape this configuration and concludes that most of them are still in their initial stages and are not likely to create a radical shift in the next few years in how manufacturing is configured around the world. These themes were presented in a special session on “Manufacturing in the World – Where Next?” at the 2013 EurOMA Conference in Dublin, Ireland.

The paper provides a series of perspectives on some key considerations pertaining to the future of manufacturing. An evaluation of their likely impact is offered and insights for the future of manufacturing are presented.

The importance of a focus on the extended manufacturing network is established. The need for customer engagement and a forward looking approach that extends to the immediate customer and beyond emerges as a consistent feature across the different perspectives presented in the paper. There is both the potential and need for the adoption of innovative business models on the part of manufacturers.

The paper presents in-depth perspectives from scholars in the field of manufacturing on the changing landscape of manufacturing. These perspectives culminate in a series of insights on the future of global manufacturing that inform future research agendas and help practitioners in formulating their manufacturing strategies.

Service businesses are struggling with customer demands for better quality service and managerial demands for cost reduction. There is evidence to suggest that service businesses are in practice failing on both these counts, seeing increased costs and reductions in service quality. The application of lean production approaches to the service context has been suggested as a means to resolve these problems, reducing costs and improving quality. Despite the validation of lean approaches in the product‐service context, the application of lean approaches in the pure service environment remains largely untested. The purpose of this paper is to assess the suitability of lean production methodologies in the pure service context.

Three financial service companies in the UK were followed through a common programme of lean transformation. The improvements observed in each company were recorded. The change programme is evaluated to determine the “leanness” of the initiatives. The suitability of lean for the service context is discussed.

The paper's findings highlight significant improvements in quality and cost positions with minimal investment through adoption of lean tools in the pure service context. The paper proposes the suitability of basic lean methodologies such as value understanding, process mapping and problem solving for the pure service context.

The lean approach is well established in the manufacturing sector and certain product‐service contexts. Evidence on lean in pure service environments is very limited. The paper addresses this shortcoming.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a model of possible solutions to potential employment issues arising from the outsourcing job trend. The case study offers university administrators and education policy makers the rationale to develop sequential, fully articulated education programs that equip the students with job skills that make them competitive in a global work force.

The objective is achieved through a case study of an outsourcing outfit in Jonesboro, Arkansas. A range of recently published academic research and vocational literature provide the statistical background for the experiment conducted at Arkansas State University.

The US education system is not competitive when compared to Asian and European education systems, which emphasize math, science, and foreign languages. Collaboration between government‐funded entities and corporate America to invest in training the American human capital, as in the case of rural sourcing, is crucial to guarantee America's continuing position as a super world power.

Resources include academic research as well as popular vocational publications to ensure the valid representation of academia and corporate America. In addition, several on‐site interviews and observations were conducted. However, due to the fluidity of the outsourcing situation, constant updating of data are required. Consulting the most recent statistics and publications is recommended to stay abreast of the situation.

Recommendations to globalize the American education system are made and are currently being shared with education policy makers at the state level. These recommendations include the implementation of foreign language requirements and more rigorous math and science programs in high schools.

This paper identifies practical tools to overcome the threats of outsourcing jobs to Asia through offering a road map to globalize the American education system with the goal of preparing a competitive workforce for the twenty‐first century.