Vendor Management Organizations and the Transformation of Contingent Labor Sourcing

• In Event: 2451 - Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 5. Flexible and Precarious Labor

Abstract

The past several decades have seen a dramatic rise in non-standard forms of work. While its causes, such as globalization, technology, and economic climate, have been well documented, there is little research on the organizational forces that contributed to its growth. This paper focuses on the emergence and rise of a new organizational form that facilitates the large-scale sourcing of contingent workers: the vendor management organization (VMO). Incorporating qualitative analyses and multiple data sources, the research describes how different combinations of economic, social, and relational forces over time contributed to the emergence and rise of VMOs. Using an archival data set of media coverage from 1995-2015, the author accounts for how a once disparate practice became a globally powerful, yet relatively unknown, organizational form that is rapidly transforming labor markets.

Author

• Laureen K. O'Brien