An Analysis of IT Sourcing Practices: Identification and Exploration of Cultural Distance as a Key Factor in IT Outsourcing Engagements

Information technology outsourcing (ITO) can be defined as “the commissioning of a third party (or a number of third parties) to manage a client organization’s IT assets, people, and/or activities […] to required results” (Fitzgerald and Willcocks, 1994). It has been a pivotal topic on Chief Information Officers’ (CIO) agendas ever since Eastman Kodak’s decision to hand over their information systems function to IBM, DEC, Anderson Consulting, and Businessland in 1989. Never before had such a wellknown company that considered IT as a strategic asset handed over responsibility for it to an external partner (Applegate, 1992). The deal showed that ITO can constitute an alternative to managing complex Information Technology (IT) systems in-house (Kern and Willcocks, 2000) and subsequently led executives across different industries to follow suit and sign large contracts worth multiple hundred million dollars. The “Kodak effect” served as a starting point to what would become an important strategic matter for IT managers to consider (Caldwell, 1994). 30 years later, ITO has developed into a common practice for organizations of all sizes, industries, and geographies (Qi and Chau, 2013). Over the course of three decades, practitioners have come to appreciate ITO especially for its advantages in terms of cost, flexibility, and the possibility to capitalize on external capabilities (Martins et al., 2015; Schneider and Sunyaev, 2016). Today, virtually every Fortune 500 company2 and many large public institutions outsource a significant portion of their IT services (Patil and Wongsurawat, 2015). As a consequence, an entire global industry has evolved around ITO, with annual growth rates of around 10% and an estimated market size of around 320 billion US dollars in 2015 (Faisal and Raza, 2016). The increasing relevance of ITO in practice has also attracted considerable research that has explored various aspects of outsourcing, including common motivations, outcomes, success factors, benefits, and risks (Dibbern et al., 2004; Gonzalez et al., 2006; Lacity et al., 2009; Lacity et al., 2010; Lacity et al., 2016; Liang et al., 2015). Notwithstanding its three decades of existence, however, ITO remains a dynamic phenomenon that is subject to the ongoing rapid developments in the economic and societal environment in which it is embedded. Major developments in the field of IT, particularly the ever-progressing digitalization and the rise of IT-centered and -enabled business models (Bughin et al., 2019; Harvey Nash/KPMG, 2018; Legner et al., 2017), require adequate consideration in IT sourcing decision-making

An investigation of knowledge transfer in information systems (IS) outsourcing

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Inter-organisational knowledge transfer is of central interest both as an academic topic and in business practice. However, despite the attention given to the importance of this subject from different perspectives in various contexts, little is known about how knowledge is transferred from vendors to clients in information systems (IS) outsourcing. This research attempts to address this apparent theoretical and empirical deficiency by providing a deeper understanding and more holistic analysis of the key factors which facilitate or inhibit knowledge transfer success in IS outsourcing. This study employed a qualitative, multiple case study approach in the interpretive paradigm. Data was collected mainly from the IS departments of three public sector organisations in Oman. Oman was chosen as the context for the study due to its rapid growth in recent years and the opportunity to consider the many major IS outsourcing projects which have been undertaken by its public sector. Through semi-structured interviews, this study explored the perspectives of the internal IS staff on their experience of knowledge transfer and learning from vendors through various IS outsourcing projects. Written and electronic documentations as well as non-participant observations also served as important triangulation and complementary sources in understanding the phenomenon being studied and as means of gaining additional perspectives and further insights on key issues. The empirical evidence demonstrated that there are five sets of factors which facilitate or inhibit knowledge transfer success in IS outsourcing. These are: knowledge (knowledge tacitness and knowledge complexity), client (learning intent, absorptive capacity and motivation), vendor (vendor capability, vendor credibility and vendor openness), relationship (relationship quality, relationship duration, relationship governance and organisational distance) and knowledge transfer mechanisms (formal and informal). The findings of this study contributed and extended the growing body of research on IS outsourcing by developing a novel, holistic conceptual framework which examined five sets of factors that impact knowledge transfer success. Additionally, it provided prescriptive value for practitioners seeking to realise efficient and effective knowledge transfer in IS outsourcing

The Outsourcing of Apparel and Textiles: Manufacturing Site Selection

The outsourcing of American manufacturing to the international sector historically utilizes supply chain/logistics analysis (lowest-cost supplier and transportation networks) as the primary method in site selection. This approach stems from Alfred Weber's (1929) location theory, compared to the neoclassical Heckscher-Ohlin theory that focuses on the exploitation of location endowments such as natural resources, capital and labor (Harrington and Warf, 1995). Since established transportation networks are more efficient than in times past, site selection may rely more on the cultural characteristics of the outsourced labor market than on transportation costs. The objective of this research is to determine whether the Weberian or the Heckscher-Ohlin factor model is relevant in today's outsourcing practices. An empirical case study evaluates why some outsourced production initially placed with contractors proximal to the United States was later transferred to contractor locations a greater distance away - arguably, costing more to the producer and consumer. Data collection takes place through quantitative and qualitative surveys of twenty-five outsourcing professionals. Three cultural characteristics are considered: 1) time sensitivity, 2) on-time delivery, and 3) the establishment of long-term relationships between the foreign contractor and the U.S. manufacturer. The research will demonstrate that apparel outsourcing site selection is broader than supply chain/logistics/cost analysis and contributes a qualitative perspective to business practices. It responds to previous research that apparel manufacturers have a preference for contractors at close distance. If cultural considerations influence site selection, then some locations are preferred over others that do not possess similar traits, regardless of distance

Risks affecting supplier-distributor relationships : evidence from Middle Eastern companies

DBAFor many manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), Middle Eastern markets are viewed as emergent economies with high growth potential. Some countries of the Middle East are witnessing a rise of modern trade channels such as hypermarket and supermarket formats, others are still dominated by traditional retailers such as wholesale and grocery store formats. Within this context, the decision to outsource the sales and distribution activities of a firm results in significant benefits but it also entails many dyadic risks between suppliers and their distributors. The purpose of this research is to understand how FMCG suppliers/manufacturers and distributors perceive relevant dyadic risks and how these risks are mitigated. The research examines the dyadic risk mitigation strategies adopted by both suppliers and distributors using relevant propositions based on transaction cost economics and agency theories. The propositions are explored by analysing 15 multiple dyadic cases which focus on the FMCG industry in three representative markets of the Middle East: Iraq, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Semi structured interviews have been conducted with 30 experts from the FMCG industry in the Middle East, split between suppliers and distributors. The research shows that FMCG suppliers in the Middle East are affected by dyadic risks that hinder their ability to control their performance. Distributors also face dyadic risks that are due to their dependency on suppliers, which affects their future sustainability. Dyadic Risk Mitigation strategies include deploying a control system and reviewing the formal contracting structure, as suggested by agency theory, while another strategic approach relates to a partial or vertical integration of assets of high specificity, as proposed by transaction cost economics theory. The research shows that trust plays a pivotal role in the relationship between suppliers and distributors. From a practical perspective, the research contributes to proposing a transformation road map that encapsulates guidelines and tools that managers can use to diagnose their dyadic risks and map their optimal dyadic risk mitigation strategy

An annotated bibliography on social issues in post-war Sri Lanka with particular reference to conflict-affected northern and eastern provinces

"This annotated bibliography was prepared as a preliminary output of a strategic social assessment in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka. It was conducted by the International Centre for Ethnic Studies in Kandy for both the World Bank and Government of Sri Lanka. The document covers the literature (published and grey) relating to the social and psychological impact of the war in Sri Lanka, post-war developments (including challenges encountered in the resettlement), recovery and reconciliation in war-affected communities and the nature of social formations, community dynamics, identity issues and social harmony, and conflict management in the newly settled and yet to be resettled populations.

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

An investigation of knowledge transfer in information systems (IS) outsourcing

Inter-organisational knowledge transfer is of central interest both as an academic topic and in business practice. However, despite the attention given to the importance of this subject from different perspectives in various contexts, little is known about how knowledge is transferred from vendors to clients in information systems (IS) outsourcing. This research attempts to address this apparent theoretical and empirical deficiency by providing a deeper understanding and more holistic analysis of the key factors which facilitate or inhibit knowledge transfer success in IS outsourcing. This study employed a qualitative, multiple case study approach in the interpretive paradigm. Data was collected mainly from the IS departments of three public sector organisations in Oman. Oman was chosen as the context for the study due to its rapid growth in recent years and the opportunity to consider the many major IS outsourcing projects which have been undertaken by its public sector. Through semi-structured interviews, this study explored the perspectives of the internal IS staff on their experience of knowledge transfer and learning from vendors through various IS outsourcing projects. Written and electronic documentations as well as non-participant observations also served as important triangulation and complementary sources in understanding the phenomenon being studied and as means of gaining additional perspectives and further insights on key issues. The empirical evidence demonstrated that there are five sets of factors which facilitate or inhibit knowledge transfer success in IS outsourcing. These are: knowledge (knowledge tacitness and knowledge complexity), client (learning intent, absorptive capacity and motivation), vendor (vendor capability, vendor credibility and vendor openness), relationship (relationship quality, relationship duration, relationship governance and organisational distance) and knowledge transfer mechanisms (formal and informal). The findings of this study contributed and extended the growing body of research on IS outsourcing by developing a novel, holistic conceptual framework which examined five sets of factors that impact knowledge transfer success. Additionally, it provided prescriptive value for practitioners seeking to realise efficient and effective knowledge transfer in IS outsourcing.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo