Enabling innovation in information technology outsourcing : an empirical study

Information technology outsourcing has become a pervasive and important phenomenon in business organizations and there is substantial evidence about its benefits and pitfalls. Initially, firms used outsourcing as a way to lower costs, gain access to expertise and focus on core activities. Recently, there is a shift in focus and more firms are outsourcing to attain innovative products and services. However, current research is still unclear about how innovation can be achieved through outsourcing. Drawing predominantly from the dynamic capability theory, the objective of this paper is to explore how absorptive capacity unfolds as a process within and between firms when client firms outsource their information technology services with expectations of innovation generation. In this paper, we propose a research model that links absorptive capacity to innovation generation. We draw on three case studies to focus on how absorptive capacity, as a process, impacts innovation generation. Results show that assimilation and transformation stages are critical in generating radical innovation while acquisition and exploitation play a key role in incremental innovation. The implications of these findings for both researchers and practitioners are discussed.<br /

Social Influence In Computer-Mediated Communication: The Effects On Group Meeting Outcomes

Studies of managers and knowledge workers reveal that they spend a significant amount of their time in meetings, suggesting that meetings are an important part of one's working life. Findings in Group Support Systems research suggest that using computer-mediated communication enhances idea production in group meetings. Nevertheless, little attention has been given to how the communication medium, in electronic brainstorming, influences group meeting performance. Using a laboratory experiment, 259 subjects were randomly assigned to 51 groups. Three different treatment conditions were used: no public screen, public screen presented at the end of the meeting session, and public screen provided throughout. The results show that there is a significant performance difference between groups under the three treatment conditions. The findings of this study offer striking evidence that there are social group processes that may account for these performance differences including the self-evaluation potential, social loafing and performance matching effects. Implications of these findings for both researchers and practitioners are discussed

A CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OUTSOURCING RELATIONSHIPS: A VENDOR PERSPECTIVE

Information technology outsourcing relationships between clients and suppliers are generally embedded into formal contracts. The empirical literature on contracting usually assumes that contractual completeness is difficult to achieve due to the transaction costs of describing—or of even foreseeing—the possible states of nature in advance. Little research has been done on the on-going set of processes during the life of the client/supplier relationship in the post phase of the contract where unforeseen contingencies and events emerge. Hence, a process improvement framework for studying IT outsourcing relationships is needed to provide more detailed metrics for assessing and managing the maturity level of IT outsourcing relationships. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate an evolutionary process improvement model to manage relationships between clients and suppliers in the context of information technology outsourcing. We call this model the Capability Maturity Model of Information Technology Outsourcing Relationships (CMMITOR). The model presents the key elements of maturity in IT outsourcing relationships from an ad hoc stage, immature relationship management processes to highly mature and disciplined ones. The preliminary results show that the process-view of IT relationships is suited for this purpose. Key process areas were identified and refined through a card sorting procedure. The validation of the resultant model is underway through a field study of ten IT outsourcing relationships. Implications for research and practice are discussed

An Assessment of Information Technology Outsourcing Risk

This paper proposes a research model for defining and measuring information technology outsourcing risks. The model is based on transaction cost and agency theory as well as on IT outsourcing literature. Risk is defined here as a set of triplets composed of scenarios, their likelihood and consequences. It draws on the behavioral perspective, which associates risk with the magnitude of a negative consequence of a decision. A survey is being conducted to test the model

Target Setting And Firm Performance: A Review

The consequences of missing targets can be found on a daily basis in many organizations. As such, targets and target setting in an extremely important topic to companies and one that should receive more attention. Although the vast amount of reasons for missing targets are difficult to study, the process of setting the target which includes budgeting has been proven to affect performance and achievement through goal setting theory (Locke &amp; Latham, 2002). Thus, targets are an important element in almost every organization (Chenhall, 2003). We focus this review of literature exclusively in the relationship between target setting and firm performance and as such consolidate, organize, and synthesize past literature in this field and provide a clear direction for future research. We further identify two impactors found to affect firm and management performance but never researched as an impactor of the relationship between target setting and firm performance. Those impactors are Transparency of targets and length of management experience. In this paper, we fill the gaps identified above and inform the study of target setting in order to spark future research on this topic. We also identify the dimensions affecting the relationship between target setting and firm performance as well as the different measurement approaches in target setting literature

Web Engineering: An Assessment of Empirical Research

Web engineering is the process used to create high-quality Web-based systems and applications that deliver a complex array of content and functionality to a broad population of end-users. As Web Engineering continues to grow in popularity with practitioners and academics alike, so far, there hasn\u27t been any assessment of its accumulated body of knowledge in terms of academic research. Because Web engineering was established as a new discipline some five years ago, it is perhaps time to take stock of the efforts made in this field. Using the Web Engineering Process Model developed by Pressman, this paper organizes and map progress made so far. The results suggest a significant need for theory-based research in Web Engineering. The paper discusses some of the managerial and research implications of the findings

The Impact of Software Process Maturity and Software Development Risk on the Performance of Software Development Projects

Despite the increasing efforts of organizations to improve the development processes of their software projects, there remain few empirical and generalizable findings when it comes to key questions regarding software process improvement initiatives. Rarely there was any empirical examination in an integrative model on how process improvement efforts affect key organizational concerns such as software project performance and the threat of risks in today’s dynamic and complex business environment. In addressing this knowledge gap, we propose and test a research model that allows for an empirical examination of the relationships between software process maturity and the performance of software development projects while assessing the impact of risk on software project performance. Data were collected from officially CMM-appraised organizations to test developed hypotheses using proven metrics identified in the literature. Our findings support our theoretical framework in providing evidence of the positive impact of software development process maturity on the performance of software projects while underscoring the negative effect of risk on software project performance. Key results and a discussion of the findings are also provided

Stock Spams: Another Kind Of Stock Prices Manipulation

This research investigates the market reaction to an information-based manipulation called stock spams. The impact is focused on the liquidity variable which is measured by Amivest ratio. Using the event study methodology on a sample of penny stocks for the period February 2006 through October 2008, our findings suggest positive and significant abnormal liquidities for stocks targeted by manipulators during the event window. Robustness checks were performed using a non-parametric test. These results support the thesis that this kind of manipulation is a very flourishing business that manipulators exploit by simply purchasing stocks at low prices and selling them at higher prices

Does Virtualization Capability Maturity Influence Information Systems Development Performance? Theorizing The Non-Linear Payoffs

Firms are increasingly relying on digital transformation and virtualization of physical IT assets to develop information systems projects. However, the assessment of this virtualization on the performance of information systems development (ISD) projects is still unclear. Drawing upon the theories of radical innovation and process virtualization, we develop and empirically test a research model describing the relationships of virtualization capability maturity (VCM) with ISD project performance. Our findings show inverted U-shaped relationships of VCM with both ISD process and product performance. Interestingly, ISD projects achieve performance improvements as they progress incrementally from VCM levels of 0 to 2, but at VCM level 3 performance declines. Also, we observe that at higher levels of VCM, ISD process performance declines more rapidly than ISD product performance and the resources spent on ISD project execution increases non-linearly with increasing levels of VCM. Implications of these results are discussed