Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main activities that startups outsource and the elements involved in outsourcing decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-case study composed of Brazilian startups was conducted. Data through interviews and secondary sources were obtained. Two groups of startups were considered and analyzed comparatively: startups in the development stage and in the sales stage.

Findings

The findings show that even though the literature suggests that the core business should not be outsourced, some startups do have to outsource this kind of activity. That was the main difference found between startups in the sales stage and in the development stage: the former group has a solid structure, knowledge and resources, so they can keep the core business inside the firm; whereas the latter group has little experience, scarce knowledge and resources, making outsourcing a more attractive alternative.

Originality/value

Theoretically, this paper approaches a perspective underexplored in the innovation and management literature: outsourcing in startups. It highlights how outsourcing, as a decision between making and buying, can help startups to improve success potential. In practice, this paper discusses and demonstrates why and what can be outsourced by startups in the development and in the sales stages to overcome their limitations and, consequently, achieve better innovative results.

中文翻译：

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初创公司的外包

目的

本文的目的是确定初创公司外包的主要活动以及外包决策中涉及的要素。

设计/方法/方法

进行了由巴西初创公司组成的多案例研究。通过访谈和二手资料获得数据。对两组初创公司进行了比较研究和分析：处于开发阶段的初创公司和处于销售阶段的初创公司。

发现

调查结果表明，尽管文献表明核心业务不应该外包，但一些初创公司确实不得不外包这种活动。这就是初创公司在销售阶段和发展阶段发现的主要区别：前者具有坚实的结构、知识和资源，因此可以将核心业务保留在公司内部；而后者经验少，知识和资源稀缺，使外包成为更具吸引力的选择。

原创性/价值

从理论上讲，本文探讨了一个在创新和管理文献中未被充分探索的观点：初创企业的外包。它强调了外包作为制造和购买之间的决定，如何帮助初创公司提高成功潜力。在实践中，本文讨论并论证了初创公司在开发和销售阶段可以外包的原因和内容，以克服其局限性，从而取得更好的创新成果。