Outsourcing and task autonomy of outsourced staff

Evidence from Ecobank southeast Nigeria

Abstract

Organizations’ quest to maintain competitive advantage and maximize profit has made outsourcing one of the most popular management strategies in Nigeria. It has challenged the old practice where banks relied solely on their internal resources to perform both core and non-core banking activities. However, previous studies on outsourcing have reported inconsistent findings on the effects of the practice on workers. This study therefore, analyzed the effects of outsourcing on the task autonomy of outsourced staff in Ecobank Nigeria Limited. Labour Market Segmentation Theory was employed as theoretical frameworks while Quasi-experimental design was adopted. Relevant data were collected using structured questionnaire and In-depth interview. In quantitative data analysis, descriptive statistics and Chi square were employed while qualitative data were content analysis. Finding from the study revealed that the outsourced staff didn’t have the freedom to make decisions pertaining their work leading to low task autonomy. This was due to their perceived low level of trust, allegiance and commitment to their bank. Mode of employment was significantly associated with employee task autonomy. The study therefore concludes that the jobs of the outsourced staff were low in task autonomy due to their status as outsourced staff. Banks therefore, need to design a balanced work structure to improve the quality of work of the outsourced staff so as to enhance their task autonomy.