Book excerpt: Outsourcing became fashionable in the late 1980s, came of age in the 1990s, and is now a normal part of corporate life. Written by well-known and respected business authors and incorporating new research from Copenhagen Business School, this book covers the newest elements of outsourcing today and discusses how strategic alliances should be established between the buyer and supplier. Topics explored throughout include the scope, scale and importance of what is outsourced; the pricing and risk sharing involved; and changes to organizations which lead them to seek more outsourcing.