Susan Helper, professor of economics, has published research in the Journal of Operations, Management on a new approach to sourcing decisions that promotes attention to value.
Helper and her co-authors introduce the new approach, “total value contribution� or TVC, as a way to address the disconnect that sourcing decisions and minimizing costs can create. The TVC approach “builds on insights from the literature on individual and group decision-making to offset human biases and organizational incentives that emphasize cost reduction.� In addition, TVC builds on gains already achieved by “total cost of ownership� (TCO) sourcing methods, which broadened the list of factors considered in sourcing.
Helper and team believe that widespread implementation of TVC would improve both organizational and social outcomes.