Background

Temporary work agencies have been around for several decades. An emerging outgrowth from these has been expanding in the industry, known as master vendor arrangements. Furthermore, much research has been devoted to the usage of temporary working agencies but less attention has been devoted to the master vendor arrangements and the consequences from using such an arrangement.

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the strategic decision of implementing a master vendor arrangement offered by a consultant brokerage firm and the impact of such a decision on the company.

Method

This study is using an inductive approach, where the empirical findings are gathered through semi-structured interviews as well as corporate documents. The empirical findings are collected trough an interview study and analysed through a template analysis. The theoretical framework helped us build our constructs from which we have structured the overall themes in our semi-structured interviews.

Conclusions

An implementation of a master vendor arrangement is complex and can generate several consequences. In this study we identify six major consequences that end clients have experienced. By considering these factors a greater understanding of how to look upon a master vendor arrangement can be formed.