Transformation of IT Outsourcing in Global Value Chains

Introduction. In the 2020s, IT outsourcing has transcended its traditional cost-reduction function and emerged as a central mechanism of digital coordination within global value chains (GVCs). Driven by the platformization of cloud infrastructure, robotic process automation (RPA), generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), regulatory fragmentation, and geoeconomic reconfiguration, the industry is acquiring a new quality that challenges conventional offshoring theories. The article aims to identify the key factors underlying this transformation and to propose a conceptual model of the transition from a cost-arbitrage logic to an infrastructural, coordination-oriented, knowledge-service function.

Materials and methods. The study employs comparative typological analysis drawing on data from the WTO, World Bank, OECD, Gartner, Statista, NASSCOM, Synergy Research Group, and corporate reports of leading IT providers spanning 2000–2026, with a focus on 2020–2026. The methodological framework integrates GVC theory, institutional analysis, and critical secondary data analysis, enabling the identification of a structural shift rather than mere cyclical fluctuations.

Results of the study. The findings reveal that IT outsourcing has become a coordination layer of digital GVCs, connecting cloud infrastructure, data, corporate processes, and transboundary regulatory regimes. A pronounced structural asymmetry is observed: the high concentration of cloud infrastructure among three hyperscalers coexists with a diverse landscape of global, regional, and niche service providers. The concept of double intermediary dependence is substantiated - clients depend on both the service provider and the cloud platform, whose standards and jurisdiction exert decisive influence. A typology of country and regional nodes within digital GVCs is developed, distinguishing India as a multilevel digital hub, Eastern Europe as a nearshore integrator for the EU, Ireland as a high-value-added computer services node, and several emerging clusters. The study further demonstrates that automation does not eliminate outsourcing but reshapes its structure towards architectural, analytical, and domain-specific expertise.

Discussion and conclusion. Contemporary IT outsourcing functions as a hybrid mechanism linking external vendors, internal competence centres, hyperscale cloud platforms, data, and diverse regulatory frameworks. Its impact is ambivalent: alongside enhanced innovative capacity, it carries risks of knowledge loss and long-term vulnerability. Supplier selection increasingly hinges not on cost but on jurisdictional compatibility and the capacity to ensure cyber resilience. The results provide a foundation for future research on digital rent distribution and the impact of GenAI on the configuration of digital GVCs.

1. Bessarabov V.O., Tymchina L.I., 2023. Sovremennyye tendentsii razvitiya rynka autsorsingovykh uslug v mire [Current Trends in the Development of the Global Outsourcing Services Market]. Vestnik yevraziyskoy nauki [Bulletin of Eurasian Science]. Vol. 15. № 2.

2. Goncharova K.S., Shelomentsev A.G., Masyuk N.N., 2023. Sravnitel'nyy analiz vliyaniya global'nykh tsepochek sozdaniya stoimosti na natsional'nyye ekonomiki [Comparative Analysis of the Impact of Global Value Chains on National Economies]. Vestnik MGIMO-Universiteta [Bulletin of MGIMO-University]. Vol. 16. № 4.

3. Dolzhenko I.B., 2026. Strategicheskaya reorganizatsiya global'nykh tsepochek sozdaniya stoimosti na mirovom rynke odezhdy [Strategic reorganization of global value chains in the world clothing market]. Regional'naya i otraslevaya ekonomika [Regional and industry economics]. № 2.

4. Konina N.Yu., 2025. Sovremennyye tendentsii autsorsinga mezhdunarodnykh kompaniy [Modern trends in outsourcing of international companies]. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Ekonomika [Bulletin of Tomsk State University. Economics]. № 70.

5. Konina N.Yu., 2025. Geoekonomicheskiye i tekhnologicheskiye drayvery transformatsii rynka mezhdunarodnogo IT-autsorsinga [Geoeconomic and Technological Drivers of International IT Outsourcing Market Transformation]. Ekonomicheskiye nauki [Economic Science]. № 253.

6. Mironchuk V.A., Zolkin A.L., Skibin Yu.V., Breusova Ye.A., 2025. IT-autsorsing kak drayver tsifrovoy modernizatsii organizatsiy [IT Outsourcing as a Driver of Digital Modernization of Organizations]. Ekonomika i upravleniye: problemy, resheniya [Economy and Management: Problems, Solutions]. Vol. 4. № 1(154).

7. Ryabchuk P.G., Fedoseyev A.V., Murygina L.S., et al., 2021. Autsorsing kak instrument povysheniya konkurentosposobnosti promyshlennogo predpriyatiya [Outsourcing as a Tool for Improving the Competitiveness of an Industrial Enterprise]. Vestnik Altayskoy akademii ekonomiki i prava [Bulletin of the Altai Academy of Economics and Law]. № 10-2.

8. Sysoyeva A.M., Ivashechkina L.G., 2023. Autsorsing: global'nyye tendentsii i perspektivy rossiyskikh predpriyatiy [Outsourcing: Global Trends and Prospects of Russian Enterprises]. Upravlencheskiy uchet [Management Accounting]. № 11-2.

9. Baldwin R., 2016. The Great Convergence: Information Technology and the New Globalization. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press. 10. Charles M., Ochieng S.B., 2023. Strategic outsourcing and firm performance: a review of literature. International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research. Vol. 1. №. 1.

10. Deng C.P., Wang T., Galliers R.D., Huang J., 2021. Organizational agility through outsourcing: Roles of IT alignment, cloud computing and knowledge transfer. International Journal of Information Management. Vol. 60.

11. Farrell H., Newman A.L., 2019. Weaponized interdependence: How global economic networks shape state coercion. International Security. Vol. 44. No. 1.

12. Gambal M.J., Asatiani A., Kotlarsky J., 2022. Strategic innovation through outsourcing: A theoretical review. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems. Vol. 31. № 2.

13. Gereffi G., 2018. Global Value Chains and Development: Redefining the Contours of 21st Century Capitalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

14. Gereffi G., Humphrey J., Sturgeon T., 2005. The governance of global value chains. Review of International Political Economy. Vol. 12. № 1.

15. Krieger B., Trottner F., 2026. Trade in knowledge services and firm innovation. The Journal of Technology Transfer. Vol. 1.

16. Lahiri S., Kedia B.L., Mukherjee D., Contractor F.J., 2022. Performance implications of outsourcing: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business Research. Vol. 139.

17. Mazumder S., Garg S., 2025. Digital transformational outsourcing: A necessity analysis of service provider capabilities. IIMB Management Review. Vol. 37. № 2.

18. Murphy L., 2024. The influence of IT outsourcing on organisational success and innovation. Future Business Journal. Vol. 10.

19. Pegoraro D., Chidlow A., De Propris L., 2025. Exploring factors influencing manufacturing home-shoring strategies: insights from three diverse geographical regions. Journal of International Business Policy. Vol. 8.

20. Su N., Levina N., Ross J.W., 2015. The long-tail strategy for IT outsourcing. MIT Sloan Management Review. Vol. 56. № 3.

21. Zahoor N., Wu J., Khan H., Khan Z., 2023. De-globalization, international trade protectionism, and the reconfigurations of global value chains. Management International Review. Vol. 63.