Some years ago, Tadelis and a Stanford colleague considered IT outsourcing arrangements in a number of towns.

FORBES: The Hidden Costs of Outsourcing

Tadelis says that companies may overlook these potential increases, often because they are used to relying on internal staff.

FORBES: The Hidden Costs of Outsourcing

Does Tadelis believe that the town should return to permanent IT staffing?

FORBES: The Hidden Costs of Outsourcing

"Removal of these advertisements simply raised the prominence of the eBay natural search result, " read the report by Thomas Blake, Chris Nosko, and Steve Tadelis from eBay.

BBC: Google advertising value questioned by eBay

One municipality that Tadelis considered in his research believed that it could cut costs by eliminating its two internal IT positions and outsourcing their work to local technology providers.

FORBES: The Hidden Costs of Outsourcing

These costs stem from unexpected changes that require the company to adjust quickly, says Steven Tadelis, an Associate Professor at the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business.

FORBES: The Hidden Costs of Outsourcing