Determinants and management of make-and-buy
An Extension to Transaction Cost Economics
In her dissertation, Anna Krzeminska explores the determinants and management of make-and-buy decisions, which involve the simultaneous use of in-house production and external procurement of goods or services. This approach is prevalent across various industries, including automotive, telecommunications, IT, pharmaceuticals, sales, and franchising. While the make-or-buy decision has been extensively studied, research focused on the make-and-buy perspective is limited. Krzeminska addresses this gap by investigating the determinants, management, and performance implications of make-and-buy. She begins with a review of existing literature, revealing only 17 contributions on make-and-buy in the industrial purchasing context over the past 30 years. Her analysis uncovers a paradox: despite a lack of consensus on the applicability of transaction cost economics (TCE) to explain make-and-buy, TCE remains the dominant framework used in the literature. Building on this observation, Krzeminska systematically examines the potential of TCE to elucidate the make-and-buy phenomenon, aiming to enhance understanding and guide future research in this critical area of decision-making.
