While not every organization will need to build a brand in the metaverse or transact with cryptocurrencies, all organizations manage credentials as issuers, holders, and verifiers. That's why the one piece of Web3 technology that managers should begin looking at is decentralized credentialling systems based on blockchain. While it's still early days for this application area, pilot projects are showing promise, in addition to highlighting issues that must be addressed.

First-generation blockchain applications are delivering business value by removing friction shared by ecosystem partners, but they complement rather than disrupt existing structures and grow ROI on existing technology. This article describes how early adopters are successfully building collaborative networks, how they are building trust, why private blockchain networks are still dominant, and other lessons from blockchain implementations.

This teaching case explores the business and ethics of prison sourcing, the practice of training and hiring prisoners to perform work for the private or public sectors. Although most prison employment programs train and hire workers for manual labor, such as furniture building or textiles, some prison employment programs now train and hire inmates to perform low-level Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services like call center work, data entry, and document preparation. Prison sourcing is highly controversial. Besides the usual concerns about security and quality of work performed by prisoners, the ethical aspects of prison sourcing are hotly debated. Proponents argue prison sourcing is ethical because it defrays the costs of corrections, helps individuals successfully complete their confinement and prepares them to reintegrate into society, benefitting the individuals, their families, communities, and ultimately tax payers. Opponents argue that prison sourcing is a form of slavery, hurts small businesses, and steals jobs from law-abiding citizens. The authors developed this teaching case to allow students to explore these issues. The case is a dramatized version of an actual case study of prisoners performing BPO work for a private sector company.

The call for new types of collaboration in outsourcing saw the development of the enterprise partnership model by Xchanging in 2001. The case looks at the history of one such partnership with BAE Systems. History shows why the model was attractive to BAE Systems against several other models. In Part 1 of the case, we look at and ask students to assess the in-house, fee-for-service outsourcing and management consultancy options for transforming HR through shared services. In Part 2, the case details the distinctive features of a joint-venture model that was eventually adopted and of the supplier competencies needed. We follow the relationship through the phases of preparation, realignment, streamlining, and continuous improvement, initially up to 2003. Students are asked to assess the model, progress, and what the future holds. In the third part of the case, we follow subsequent developments, including the change in the nature of outsourcing with BAE Systems from March 2007, the launch of Xchanging on the stock market in April 2007, its continued expansion, and its troubled history from 2010 to 2012. The case gives insight into the conduct of a distinctly different form of outsourcing, into how the client and the supplier deal with outsourcing over a number of years, and how a supplier navigates through a highly dynamic 21st century global environment while trying to expand its market services and revenue growth.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. In an attempt to increase both efficiency and service quality, more and more companies are outsourcing to third-party suppliers some key business processes, such as human resources, information technology, and procurement. The universe of potential suppliers is diverse and growing, made up of locally based specialists, offshore providers with comparatively low labor costs, and global suppliers who are able to apply sophisticated management techniques and technology. The challenge for clients is to understand their own requirements and to identify providers whose capabilities and objectives are best aligned with their particular needs. Draws on extensive research to identify three potentially critical areas of supplier competency: delivery competency, transformation competency, and relationship competency. By benchmarking supplier capabilities against its strategic and operational intent, a company can work to establish relationships that support its business objectives.