SUMMARY
A strategic perspective for insource/outsource decisions is provided for organizations whose competitive strategies are based on product differentiation and/or focus. The basic tenants of four previous frameworks for strategic sourcing from the literature are briefly reviewed. Following a critique of these frameworks, a new strategic sourcing framework is proposed. Elements of the frame-work are discussed in terms of primary factors (competitive advantage and demand flexibility) and secondary factors (process capability, process maturity, and strategic risk). A decision flowchart incorporating these factors is given to illustrate the functioning of the proposed framework. Implementation issues are discussed using a case study wherein two products from an electronics equipment manufacturer are subjected to sourcing decisions using the framework.