Outsourcing Maintenance Activities or Increasing Risks? Case Study in Oil Industry of Iran

Purpose: The objectives of this Research are to identify the the Potential risks and Expected outsourcing benefits influencing the decision making to outsource maintenance Activities in Aghajari Oil and Gas Production Company (Aj.O.G.P.C), and to investigate the relative importance of each of the identified factors based on the expressed opinions of the mangers and head employee in the Aj.O.G.P.C.

Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted a comprehensive review of the literature in the fields of maintenance management and outsourcing practices to achieve a thorough understanding of the issues involved, and identifying the crucial factors and the Potential risks and Expected outsourcing benefits affecting the outsourcing decision of maintenance Activities. A questionnaire survey was developed to assess each the Potential risks and expected outsourcing benefits influencing the decision to outsource maintenance services between 182 managers and head employee of the Aj.O.G.P.C.

Tests performed include: The mean test, The T test, Friedman test, The T test (Two samples).

Findings: The findings show that Aj.O.G.P.C generally value the importance of the strategic factors when making outsourcing decisions. The most important Expected outsourcing benefits were identified as” Freeing resources for core activities ” and The most important Potential risks were identified as” Dependence on the service provider”. The findings of T test (Two samples) show that the Potential risks is greater than the Expected outsourcing benefits.
Practical implications: The findings of the study provide practical value for managers in institutions of Aj.O.G.P.C confronted with the decision of whether to outsource maintenance Activities in their Organization.