Vazquez Maggio, D: Business Process Outsourcing in Times of

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) has become an important management practice and a business strategy that yields many benefits to companies. Over the last decade the BPO service market has been growing at a steady pace, but the 2008-2009 economic crisis, that affected every economy in the world, also affected the BPO service market. The effects of the crisis will continue to be seen and the consequences will probably impact markets and economies in the years to come. In this context there is a need to see how the BPO service market is being affected, how the companies are coping with economic downturns, and how an outsourcing venture could be successfully undertaken under these conditions. Moreover, it is necessary to analyze whether companies can benefit from outsourcing and if it is a sensible strategy to start a BPO project in times of crisis and recession. This study provides a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the impact of the 2008-2009 crisis on the BPO service market.