Outsourcing Operational Effectiveness? A Case Study of the Royal Canadian Air Force

This thesis examines the influence that outsourcing can have on military operational effectiveness. A Transaction Cost Economics framework is used to analyse defence outsourcing challenges in the Royal Canadian Air Force and its ability to generate capabilities. The study includes four case studies. Three features of defence outsourcing are identified to illustrate how outsourcing military training can influence operations. Although outsourcing is present in military training institutions, it is not solely responsible for influencing military operational effectiveness. Outsourcing training activities does not necessarily create inefficiency in force generation. The influence on operational effectiveness is due to the inability of the military to optimally adjust to the inclusion of outsourced elements within its organization. Unless outsourcing is employed in the appropriate context it cannot be a force multiplier.;Keywords: Outsourcing, transaction cost economics, operational effectiveness, defence, training.