Factors impacting knowledge transfer success in information systems outsourcing

Despite increased research interest on knowledge transfer in information systems (IS) outsourcing, the field still lacks sound and holistic understanding of the key factors influencing knowledge transfer success. The present paper attempts to provide a synthesis of existing theoretical perspectives and empirical findings related to the factors that facilitate or hamper knowledge transfer success in IS outsourcing. The data collection method is discussed and the key findings are presented. Conclusion is drawn and further research is suggested

Knowledge Management Competence and ISD Vendor Innovativeness in Turbulent Markets

Continuous changes in the technology and the business landscape place high strain on managing knowledge in organisations. Prior researchers highlight a positive connotation with knowledge management competence and organisational innovativeness in a turbulent environment. However, the rapid changes in the market and technology landscape may exert an additional pressure on the employees and such pressures may ultimately hinder organisational innovativeness. Drawing on knowledge management and innovation literature, this research conceptualises a model that investigates this tenacious relationship between knowledge management competence and innovativeness specifically in turbulent dynamic markets, considering information systems development (ISD)-outsourcing as the context. Following a mixed method approach, this research expects to provide guidance for ISD-outsourcing vendors to manage innovation expectations, knowledge management process and performance of the employees in dynamic market conditions

Knowledge management competence and ISD vendor innovativeness in turbulent markets

Continuous changes in the technology and the business landscape place high strain on managing knowledge in organisations. Prior researchers highlight a positive connotation with knowledge management competence and organisational innovativeness in a turbulent environment. However, the rapid changes in the market and technology landscape may exert an additional pressure on the employees and such pressures may ultimately hinder organisational innovativeness. Drawing on knowledge management and innovation literature, this research conceptualises a model that investigates this tenacious relationship between knowledge management competence and innovativeness specifically in turbulent dynamic markets, considering information systems development (ISD)-outsourcing as the context. Following a mixed method approach, this research expects to provide guidance for ISD-outsourcing vendors to manage innovation expectations, knowledge management process and performance of the employees in dynamic market conditions

MULTI-LEVEL KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT OUTSOURCING PROJECTS: THE AGENCY THEORY VIEW Research-in-Progress

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Mecanismos de coordenação e práticas da gestão do conhecimento na rede de valor terceirizada: estudo no setor elétrico

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia e Gestão do Conhecimento, Florianópolis, 2011A revisão analítica dos fundamentos teóricos deste trabalho reforça a necessidade de desenvolver trabalhos empíricos relacionados à compreensão de como efetivamente ocorre a gestão das relações e dos recursos, em especial do conhecimento, em redes interorganizacionais, formadas por intermédio da terceirização. Ante tais constatações, esta tese tem como objetivo compreender como ocorre a conexão entre as práticas da gestão do conhecimento e os mecanismos de coordenação que garantem a coerência e a conectividade em uma rede de valor terceirizada. Para aprofundar tal problemática, tentou-se, a partir de evidências empíricas, elaborar proposições teóricas que poderão contribuir para o melhor entendimento da dinâmica de funcionamento da rede de valor terceirizada. A pesquisa empírica foi conduzida por meio de entrevistas com diretores, gerentes, coordenadores e colaboradores de quatro distribuidoras brasileiras de energia elétrica. Os resultados da pesquisa levaram às seguintes proposições: a) ao terceirizar várias atividades da cadeia de valor, as distribuidoras passaram a gerenciar não mais uma cadeia de valor como pensada inicialmente por Porter (1985), mas sim uma rede de valor constituída pelas empresas terceiras; b) é responsabilidade da distribuidora, por meio da implementação e disseminação das práticas da gestão do conhecimento, promover o fluxo informacional, facilitar a comunicação e o alinhamento das estratégias, reduzir as assimetrias e estabelecer expectativas comuns com as empresas terceirizadas; c) as diferenças percebidas entre os casos pesquisados estão associadas aos níveis de consolidação dos mecanismos de coordenação de cada distribuidora, que dependem da implantação e da amplitude das práticas da gestão do conhecimento; d) quanto mais práticas a distribuidora consegue implementar e disseminar junto às empresas terceirizadas, mais consolidados são os mecanismos de coordenação que suportam os resultados da rede de valor; e e) a congruência entre os mecanismos de coordenação e as práticas da gestão do conhecimento potencializa a conectividade e a coerência entre a distribuidora e as empresas terceirizadas. O encadeamento desses atributos garante vantagem competitiva sustentável ao promover a criação, disseminação e uso do conhecimento na relação entre contratante e contratado. Acredita-se que esses resultados também poderão orientar as ações gerenciais que implicam a formação, gestão e compreensão do fenômeno organizacional da rede de valor formada por empresas terceirizadas.The analytical review of the theoretical underpinnings of this work reinforces the need to develop empirical work related to the understanding of how effective is the management of relationships and resources, especially knowledge in interorganizational networks, formed through outsourcing. Faced with such findings, this thesis aims to analyze how the linkage occurs between the practices of knowledge management and coordination mechanisms that ensure the coherence and connectivity in a value network outsourcing. To further this issue, an attempt was made, from empirical evidence, to develop theoretical propositions that could contribute to a better scientific understanding of the dynamics operating in the value network outsourcing. The empirical research was conducted through interviews with directors, managers, coordinators and employees of four Brazilian electricity distributors. The survey results led to the following propositions: a) by outsourcing various activities of the value chain, the distributors began to manage not a chain of value as initially thought by Porter (1985), but a value network constituted by third parties; b) it is the responsibility of the distributor, through the implementation and dissemination of practices of knowledge management, promoting information flow, facilitating communication and alignment of strategies, reduce disparities and establish common expectations to the subcontractors; c) differences perceived among the cases studied are associated with levels of consolidation of mechanisms for coordination of each distributor, which depend on the deployment and the extent of the practices of knowledge management, d) the more practices the distributor can implement and disseminate from the companies outsourced, the more consolidated are the coordination mechanisms that support the results of the value network, and e) the congruence between the coordinationmechanisms and practices of knowledge management enhances the connectivity and consistency between the distributor and the subcontractors. Chaining these attributes ensures sustainable competitive advantage by promoting the creation, dissemination and use of knowledge in relationship between hirer and hired. It is believed that these results may also guide the management actions that implicates in the formation, management and understanding of the organizational phenomenon of outsourcing value network

A study of organisational effectiveness : contingent coupling of human, structural and financial resources through knowledge management practices

This dissertation presents the findings of an empirical study of the effectiveness of knowledge management practices in an environment of principal-agent and market testing conditions in the Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) during the period 2001-2005. Using a grounded theory research approach and a longitudinal case study, the ADO's workforce planning community of practice is the focus of the study. The research is conducted in the context of the knowledge-based view of the firm, which holds that organisational effectiveness and thus sustained competitiveness is dependant on the continual creation, application and protection of new and unique knowledge. Pertinent knowledge management theories are reviewed and reframed in terms of loose coupling concepts, which are then used to describe the variety of knowledge creating relationships and opportunities for workforce planning that become apparent during the course of field research studies. The impact of market testing, as a precursor to outsourcing, on the creation of new knowledge in workforce planning is examined progressively during field studies. The role of leadership in maintaining effective workforce knowledge management practices emerges as the primary category in the loose coupling analysis process. The paper suggests that in order to sustain competitive advantage in workforce planning that is conducted in a commercial support or market testing environment, trust-based leadership and the use of appropriate knowledge management practices are necessary. The dissertation has important implications for research and practice. Specifically, the loose coupling framework provides a focus for literature reviews in future research of knowledge management and, in terms of professional practice, the framework is developed into an aide-mémoire that can be used to enhance knowledge management practices to meet workforce planning objectives. The aide-mémoire potentially has wider application as a tool to assess the effectiveness of knowledge management within the organisation as well as informing the selection of remedial knowledge management practices. Limitations of the paper are acknowledged and recommendations are made for further research

Success factors of selective information technology outsourcing in enterprise resource planning projects in Israel

IT Outsourcing (contracting-out of Information Technology services) has become a pivotal economic trend in recent decades. This study traces the interlacing of IT Outsourcing with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software systems. Little research has considered the reciprocal relations between these two phenomena. This was the gap in knowledge addressed by the research. More specifically, the research investigated: why organisations turn to IT Outsourcing providers to implement and maintain ERP systems and what are the success factors for selective IT Outsourcing within ERP projects in Israel. Field research was conducted in organisations during 2006-2008, employing IT Outsourcing for ERP systems in two stages: Stage One used qualitative data-collection tools: five semi-structured interviews and fifteen open-ended questionnaires. Inductive content and thematic analysis conducted on data from these tools produced themes that formed the basis for a closed-ended questionnaire used in the next stage. Stage Two employed seventy two closed-ended questionnaires. Quantitative data from this questionnaire underwent deductive statistical analysis to test and confirm findings from Stage One. Results indicated that significant differences between ERP package-based centralised cross-organisational systems and the out-dated self-developed legacy IT systems produced different organisational requirements for IT Outsourcing services. Respondents thought it essential to employ IT Outsourcing for ERP projects, noting different motivations for this strategy. Respondents identified four success factor groups for IT Outsourcing in ERP projects, grading the factors according to relative importance. Management commitment and support was the most important success factor group. The research showed that organisations that implement ERP systems regard it as essential to employ the IT Outsourcing services since they provide experienced updated experts. Organisations stress that they need these services to ensure effective, operable systems, understanding that initially there is little cost reduction. Management commitment, wise choice of vendors and intelligent contracting can establish successful vendor-organisation collaboration. Contribution to knowledge is made by offering a better understanding of the unique phenomenon of IT Outsourcing within ERP projects in Israel, motivations to use and success factorsEThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Stay, switch or back : Evaluating the IT sourcing cycle.

IT outsourcing has been a rich source for discussion since the landmark deal between Kodak and IBM in July 1989, being seen by many as the agreement that started outsourcing being perceived by companies as a serious strategic choice. With agreements generally signed for between 5 and 10 years, the research looks at what happens when an outsourcing agreement ends, either early or at contract end.The research looks at IT sourcing strategies within UK private organisations using mixed-methods research, a qualitative case study and a qualitative survey. Two frameworks were developed to facilitate the research, the IT Sourcing Cycle and the IT Functions & Systems Diamond. The Service Dynamics (SERVDYN) instrument was also created to gauge factors relating to service performance, quality and relationship in the IT sourcing decision. The Case Study, with data collected via semi-structured interviews and supporting documentation, seemed to show results different from the perception of backsourcing in previous studies (McLaughlin & Peppard 2006, Veltri et al 2008). It was clear that although the stated reasons for the decision were largely the same for outsourcing and backsourcing, they only appeared to tell part of the story. The Transition stage of the IT Sourcing Cycle proved the most revealing, with the implications for practise going further than had been previously found via secondary research. The survey was sent to 794 larger private UK companies, of which 69 responded. The survey instrument was designed to collect the views of respondents of various reasons, benefits etc. for those with different IT sourcing strategies; in-house, outsourced, switched vendors or backsourced. The research findings seem to suggest that although common reasons were given for the various sourcing options taken, there were other forces at work during the decision phase. Although service and relationship quality appear to play a part in the decision phase of the IT sourcing cycle, further research is required to ascertain if it provides a significant input to trigger the movement from Operation to Decision phase of the IT Sourcing Cycle