The impact of switching costs on the decision to retain or replace IT outsourcing vendors

While the IT outsourcing market is growing, outsourcing vendors are being replaced more frequently by firms. Since replacing vendors can affect the stability and quality of the IT services a firm receives, it is important to understand the drivers behind the decision to replace/retain vendors. This paper examines the impact of switching costs on this decision. We classify the various examples of switching costs into three categories (relational, financial and procedural) and develop a model to explain their role in the decision to replace or retain a vendor. The model also includes possible moderators of the relationship between switching costs and the vendor replacement decision. This model will be evaluated through a series of case studies of firms who have made this decision, and the refined model will be tested with a survey of IT outsourcing managers.<br /

Crowd-sourcing (who, why and what)

Purpose - There is growing interest in innovative online problem-solving models such as crowdsourcing to serve individuals, firms and the society as a whole. Crowdsourcing is the combination of efforts from various sets of individuals who are either volunteering or working part-time for socioeconomic production, basically in the cyber world. This hybrid work model is already in use by businesses and entrepreneurs; some of the platforms include Amazon mechanical Turk, 99designs, Hit RECORD and Design Crowd. Design/methodology/approach - Much has been parleyed and published, and this is primarily because of the efficient socioeconomic potentials crowdsourcing offers. Findings - This paper addressed the following three questions to help have a better understanding of crowdsourcing: who can perform crowdsourcing? why it is relevant to crowdsource in this present proliferated internet age and if there are going to be some changes in the future and the last but not the least what can be done to promote it in the society? Originality/value - This paper discusses the three W’s and concludes with challenges facing the crowdsourcing work model

Investigating vendors' decision to terminate it outsourcing contracts

ICIS 2009 Proceedings - Thirtieth International Conference on Information System

Information Systems Offshoring—A Literature Review and Analysis

IS offshoring has become one of the most discussed phenomena in IS research and practice. Particularly due to its rapid evolvement, current research on IS offshoring lacks a consolidated view on existing results. The article at hand seeks to meet this need by systematically reviewing and analyzing prior academic literature on IS offshoring. Based on a review of top-ranked IS and management journals as well as IS conference proceedings, we compile an exhaustive bibliography of ninety-six publications solely focusing on IS offshoring from a (project) management perspective. To adequately address the immense diversity of these publications, a multi-perspective research framework consisting of three perspectives, namely, research focus, research approach, and reference theory, is introduced and forms the basis for our literature analysis. The analysis results confirm the appropriateness of our framework and reveal directions for future research along the framework perspectives: Most importantly, in an effort to increase the significance and the trustworthiness of their results, researchers should apply a more theory-driven approach and provide a better description of their research context. Moreover, future research needs to pay particular attention to the pre-implementation stages of an IS offshoring initiative as well as the special nature of nearshoring and captive offshoring. Across all project stages, researchers should not only concentrate on the client point of view but incorporate multiple points of view

Demystifying paradox in modern IT organizations: A transformation toward ambidexterity

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Management of IS Outsourcing Relationships – A Dyadic Analysis of Antecedents and Consequences of Dependencies and Power

Many companies today rely heavily on specialized information technology (IT) suppliers for fulfilling their IT demands. However, external provision, i.e., outsourcing, of IT services is a risky endeavor, and expectations are frequently not met. This dissertation addresses the challenge of successfully managing outsourcing relationships between clients and IT suppliers. The dissertation begins by presenting results from a multiple case study that analyzes the organizational design of the management of supplier relations in the IT organizations of five client companies. These results contribute to research in this area and show IT decision makers on the client side efficient ways of organizing the ‘client-supplier interface’. Special attention is paid to the risks associated with outsourcing arrangements that should be addressed as part of successful relationship management. From a client’s perspective, excessive dependence on the IT supplier is viewed as a major outsourcing hazard. However, research from related disciplines suggests not only analyzing a client’s dependence but also incorporating the supplier’s dependence on the client in a dyadic exchange relationship. Differences between the dependency levels of the client and the supplier can lead to a power advantage for one party that can then be used to the detriment of the dependence-disadvantaged party. The dissertation investigates different dependence and power constellations in outsourcing relationships using a case study approach. The investigation results in conceptualizations and measurement instruments for client and supplier dependence in outsourcing relationships. The dissertation ends with a large-scale empirical survey that analyzes the effects of different combinations of dependencies and power use on the contractual partners’ satisfaction with the exchange performance. Taken together, the results advance knowledge about the successful management of outsourcing relationships and, more specifically, they enable clients and IT suppliers to capture and optimize dependence relations