Why risk management matters in IT outsourcing - A systematic literature review and elements of a research agenda

Within information systems the design science research (DSR) paradigm aims at the development of useful artifacts, e.g. models or methods, with which relevant IS problems can be solved. In analogy to the engineering discipline construction processes have been proposed for DSR. Although different phases of such construction processes are explicated in several articles, contributions are missing that propose patterns/principles that support the constructor during the different phases of the construction process. Vaishnavi and Kuechler (2007) address this issue by proposing DSR patterns. Their contribution is a substantial one; however, it does not include comparable pattern approaches from the engineering discipline for the foundation of the proposed patterns. Bearing in mind that DSR has its roots in engineering, it is important to analyze so called problem solving patterns from engineering and to compare them to the DSR patterns. Using this as a basis, it is our research goal to examine whether it is possible to expand the existing DSR patterns to include patterns from engineering. As a result, 14 additional DSR patterns are proposed which originate from engineering, have not been discussed so far, but promise to be useful for DSR in information system

Panel: Why do we toil? Benefiting research at the cost of practice or vice versa?

In this paper, we present a systematic literature review in the field of IT Outsourcing with a focus on risk management. The source material of the review consists of 97 high quality journal articles published in 18 journals between 2001 and September 2008. Besides an analysis of related work, this review provides an overview of applied research methods and theories in the field of IT Outsourcing. The articles are then analyzed from a risk management point of view to highlight key risk factors and their specific impact on IT Outsourcing. Identified risk factors are further analyzed in order to assign each risk factor to the phases of a typical IT Outsourcing process (life-cycle). The results of the review show that empirical research is the most applied method and that action research and reference modelling have not been used at all so far. Furthermore, elements of a research agenda are discussed in order to determine further steps to the construction of a reference model for risk management in IT Outsourcing. This paper mainly aims at an audience of experienced researchers in the field of IT Outsourcing who are looking for research ideas and at junior scientists (e.g. PhD students) entering this emerging field of research

Domestic Outsourcing in the United States: A Research Agenda to Assess Trends and Effects on Job Quality

The goal of this paper is to develop a comprehensive research agenda to analyze trends in domestic outsourcing in the U.S. -- firms' use of contractors and independent contractors -- and its effects on job quality and inequality. In the process, we review definitions of outsourcing, the available scant empirical research, and limitations of existing data sources. We also summarize theories that attempt to explain why firms contract out for certain functions and assess their predictions about likely impacts on job quality. We then lay out in detail a major research initiative on domestic outsourcing, discussing the questions it should answer and providing a menu of research methodologies and potential data sources. Such a research investment will be a critical resource for policymakers and other stakeholders as they seek solutions to problems arising from the changing nature of work

Theory borrowing in IT-rich contexts : lessons from IS strategy research

While indigenous theorizing in information systems has clear merits, theory borrowing will not, and should not, be eschewed given its appeal and usefulness. In this article, we aim at increasing our understanding of modifying of borrowed theories in IT-rich contexts. We present a framework in which we discuss how two recontextualization approaches of specification and distinction help with increasing the IT-richness of borrowed constructs and relationships. In doing so, we use several illustrative examples from information systems strategy. The framework can be used by researchers as a tool to explore the multitude of ways in which a theory from another discipline can yield the understanding of IT phenomena

The state-private interface in public service provision

Political theory sets out a strong case for the state to play a major role in public service provision. Yet services are often provided by a range of state and non-state actors as well as by collaborative partnerships. This paper surveys the literature, seeking to map arrangements in developing countries and to understand the politics of different types of service provision

Relativism in the Cloud: Cloud Sourcing in virtue of IS Development Outsourcing - A literature review

Nowadays Cloud Computing and Cloud Sourcing is on the agenda in many organizations. Many Chief Information Officers (CIOs) that urge for alternatives to traditional outsourcing are interested in how they can take advantage from Cloud Computing, by sourcing Information Technology (IT) from the cloud. This paper provides an overview of the research direction of Cloud Sourcing in the IS field. A literature review based on selected papers from top Information Systems (IS) journals and conferences were conducted. Findings from the review indicate that the attention of Cloud Sourcing in IS literature has mainly been directed towards security and risk as well as adoption issues, and that Cloud Sourcing is claimed to be the next generation of outsourcing. Unfortunately, this is where this strong claim ends without any further evidence, which indicate that there is a need for more research on Cloud Sourcing, especially in the direction of investigating relationships and implications when organizations start using Cloud Sourcing

Relativism in the Cloud: Cloud Sourcing in virtue of IS Development Outsourcing - A literature review

Nowadays Cloud Computing and Cloud Sourcing is on the agenda in many organizations. Many Chief Information Officers (CIOs) that urge for alternatives to traditional outsourcing are interested in how they can take advantage from Cloud Computing, by sourcing Information Technology (IT) from the cloud. This paper provides an overview of the research direction of Cloud Sourcing in the IS field. A literature review based on selected papers from top Information Systems (IS) journals and conferences were conducted. Findings from the review indicate that the attention of Cloud Sourcing in IS literature has mainly been directed towards security and risk as well as adoption issues, and that Cloud Sourcing is claimed to be the next generation of outsourcing. Unfortunately, this is where this strong claim ends without any further evidence, which indicate that there is a need for more research on Cloud Sourcing, especially in the direction of investigating relationships and implications when organizations start using Cloud Sourcing

Cloud Sourcing – Next Generation Outsourcing?

Although Cloud Sourcing has been around for some time it could be questioned what actually is known about it. This paper presents a literature review on the specific question if Cloud Sourcing could be seen as the next generation of outsourcing. The reason for doing this is that from an initial sourcing study we found that the sourcing decisions seems to go in the direction of outsourcing as a service which could be described as Cloud Sourcing. Whereas some are convinced that Cloud Sourcing reduces cost and complexity in advantage for increased labor productivity, others maintain that the negotiation with the cloud provider is crucial to ensure data privacy, security regulations, compliance, standards, tolerance for risk, governance and service level agreements. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the debate on Cloud Sourcing in the top IS conferences and AIS basket of 8 journals goes in the direction of Cloud Sourcing being the future of sourcing as practice predicts, and to identify the space for the development of this research. An introductory literature review showed that there is not much written about Cloud Sourcing as an alternative for outsourcing albeit it seems to have a great potential

Next Generation Outsourcing – A Research Agenda Guided By Practice

Over the last decades outsourcing has established itself as widely accepted management practice. Information systems researchers have spent considerable effort in studying the outsourcing phenomenon and theorizing about it. Through the interaction between research and practice, as well as through own experiences, industry managers underwent a noticeable learning curve. This poses the question: is research still up to date or do we need to think about the next stage, a form of next generation outsourcing? To investigate this issue, expert interviews with thirteen sourcing managers from different industries have been conducted. The aim was to learn about the state of outsourcing management in practice and to identify what the new topics are which keep outsourcing managers awake at night. The basis for the structured interviews was a thorough analysis of the outsourcing literature. Building on these the interviewees were asked to discuss their experiences and to highlight current issues of concern. We identified four emerging topics which call for further research: (1) Multi-vendor Outsourcing and Sourcing Networks, (2) Cloud Computing and its implications for outsourcing, (3) Risk Management of Outsourcing, and (4) Methods to bridge the Offshoring gap