The realignment of offshoring frame disputes (OFD): an ethnographic ‘cultural’ analysis

In Information Systems (IS) research on cross-cultural issues, cultural categories are typically introduced as analytical labels that explain why and how organizational groups in different parts of the world act and think differently. However, broad cultural categories can also be discursively mobilized by organizational members as strategic adaptive resources. Drawing on an ethnographic study of offshoring frame disputes (OFD) in an Indian subsidiary unit of a large Western information technology (IT) organization, this paper explores how members actively invoke a series of beliefs about Western culture and implicitly position them as the binary opposite of Eastern (or Indian) culture. The findings demonstrate how the mobilization of such beliefs eventually plays a vital role in the reconciliation of four different types of OFD. Drawing on this analysis, I build a social–psychological process model that explains how frame extensions trigger a cognitive reorganization process, leading to the accomplishment of OFD realignment. The paper argues that discursively invoked binary cultural categories help maintain non-confrontational definitions of situations and sustain working relationships in IT offshoring environments. Furthermore, interpretations linked to cultural notions seem to reflexively take the offshore–onshore power differentials into account

Public ICT innovations: a strategic ambiguity perspective

Public Information and Communications Technology (ICT) innovations are seen as having the potential to usher in a new era of technology-enabled models of governance in emerging economies. While it may be desirable for the implementation of such innovations to be underpinned by precise planning, structure and clarity, policy implementers in emerging economies are confronted instead by situations where ambiguous goals and means are standard. This paper considers high levels of ambiguity as a relatively enduring and intrinsic aspect of public ICT innovations in emerging economies. Drawing on an ethnographic study of Bangalore one, an innovative public ICT project implemented in Bangalore, India, the paper examines how strategic ambiguity is deployed by key public actors to chart the course of the implementation process and to steer it towards reasonable outcomes. Theoretically, the paper suggests that although strategic ambiguity is a precarious and unsettling condition in general, it can work effectively in contexts that are reasonably tolerant of ambiguous norms. The findings of the study also present arguments for why evaluation mechanisms need to be fundamentally reframed in order to assess the extent of implementation success of public ICT innovations in emerging economies

Impact sourcing ventures and local communities: a frame alignment perspective

Using qualitative methods, this paper explores how impact sourcing (ImS) ventures frame their activities to marginalized communities. In doing so, the paper attempts to unearth the social–psychological processes undergirding ImS strategies. The findings highlight the difficulties faced by ImS ventures in operationalizing their strategic intent. More specifically, the paper provides insights into how different and diverse framings are used by ImS ventures to influence the local community. From a strategic perspective, the paper suggests that framings related to progress, family, material benefit and egalitarianism can help overcome the inevitable tensions and misunderstandings with the community. Drawing on the findings, we develop a process model that describes how competing framings of an ImS venture and the community could eventually align. Theoretically, the pa- per illuminates the day to day micro-processes of reality negotiation between so- cially driven information technology – business process outsourcing businesses and the local communities they seek to impac

Social innovations in outsourcing: an empirical investigation of impact sourcing companies in India

Impact sourcing – the practice of bringing digitally-enabled outsourcing jobs to marginalized individuals – is an important emerging social innovation in the outsourcing industry. The impact sourcing model of delivering Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing (IT–BPO) services not only seeks to deliver business value for clients, but is also driven by an explicit social mission to help marginalized communities enjoy the benefits of globalization. This dual focus has led to the ambitious claim that social value creation can be integral to (and not always by-products of) innovative IT–BPO models. Given the relative newness of the impact sourcing business model there is scarce research about how impact sourcing companies emerge and the process through which entrepreneurs build and operate such companies. This paper draws on a qualitative study of seven Indian impact sourcing companies and develops a process model of the individual-level motivational triggers of impact sourcing entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurial actions underpinning different phases of venture creation and the positive institutional-level influences on impact sourcing. The paper argues that since deeply personalized values are central to the creation and development of impact sourcing companies, the business model may not be easy to replicate. The analysis highlights an intensive period of embedding and robust alliances with local partners as crucial for the scalability and sustainability of the impact sourcing business model. It also emphasizes the role of ‘social’ encoding and mimicry in determining the extent to which impact sourcing companies are able to retain their commitment to marginalized communities

A systems perspective on offshoring strategy and motivational drivers amongst onshore and offshore employees

Extant research tends to view firm level offshoring strategies and micro level motivational drivers as self-contained units of analysis. By contrast, this paper draws on an inductive study of two global service firms to demonstrate how the implementation and success of an advanced task offshoring strategy depends on certain systemic interdependencies between (a) the strategy, (b) onshore employees’ motivation to transfer advanced tasks and (c) offshore employees’ motivation to spend effort on their tasks and stay with the firm. We analyse how these three elements interact and produce feedback loops to create an ‘offshoring system’. Extrapolating from our findings, we propose how the offshoring system is likely to develop within the external constraints set by the attainable expertise of offshore employees and by client demands

Knowledge transfer in IT offshoring relationships: the roles of social capital, efficacy and outcome expectations

Information technology (IT) development in global organisations relies heavily on the transfer of tacit and complex knowledge from onshore units to offshore subsidiaries. A central concern of such organisations is the development of social capital, which is known to facilitate the smooth transfer of knowledge. However, only a few studies in IS research have explicitly examined the role of social capital for knowledge transfer in an IT offshoring context. In this paper, we argue that such knowledge transfer mechanisms can be understood better by considering social capital in concert with knowledge senders' efficacy and outcome expectations, two of the potentially keymotivational drivers of knowledge transfer.We develop our arguments through a qualitative case study of a large German multinational company. German IT developers in this firm provided in-depth accounts of their experience with offshore colleagues in an Indian captive subsidiary unit. Drawing on our analysis, we develop a model that depicts the influence of social capital, efficacy and outcome expectations on onshore IT developers' ability and willingness to transfer knowledge to offshore colleagues. Through the model, we also explain how social capital, efficacy and outcome expectations are interrelated and generate three interlocked, self-reinforcing circles of knowledge transfer success in IToffshoring relationships

The continuity of underperforming ICT projects in the public sector

There is a growing body of research on the successes and failures of information and communications technology (ICT) projects in the public sector. However, this literature has rarely addressed the question of why some projects persist and continue despite functioning poorly in several areas. In this paper, we suggest that the notions of institutional logics and status differences provide useful insights into the structure and trajectory of this type of continuity. We build our arguments through an in-depth qualitative case study of a public information and communications technology (PICT) project in India. From our findings, we develop a process model of PICT project continuity. We explain how the employment of bureaucratic posturing – a manifestation of bureaucratic logic – as a tactic by high status groups could lead to poor performance on several fronts. The paper elaborates on two levels of continuity: policy-level continuity, which in our case was enabled by the logics of decentralization and technocracy, and operational-level continuity, which was achieved when groups with contrasting status-related motivations supported the project

Constructing failure: a frame analysis of entrepreneurial failure blogs

Constructing failure: a frame analysis of entrepreneurial failure blog

The role of frames and cultural toolkits in establishing new connections for social media innovation

It has been suggested that social media foster innovative outcomes by facilitating communication with a vast network of new connections. In this paper we argue that forming new social connections on social media is a crucial first step in the innovation process that is not straightforward to achieve. We report on the findings of a qualitative study of 31 owner-managers in the UK who were attempting to make new connections in order to inspire innovation in their firms. The findings suggest that a lack of available social cues on social media creates a sense of uncertainty that can stifle the innovation process. In our case, the respondents addressed these difficulties by using frames as proxies for missing social stimuli. We argue that such framings guide the selection of well-established cultural tools needed to turn mental maps into action. A key implication of our findings is that social media is not necessarily an equitable space for innovation since the process still relies upon established networks and styles of behaviour, which are not readily accessible to all

A bricolage perspective on technological innovation in emerging markets

Product innovation strategies of emerging market companies are increasingly challenging conventional wisdom. Drawing on a qualitative case study of Mahindra Reva, the only electric vehicle producer in India, the paper explores how a bricolage strategy enabled a resource-constrained emerging market firm to deliver affordable, innovative and high-tech products with minimal capital investments. The findings of the study illustrate how multiple forms of bricolage can be implemented and managed at organizational and inter-organizational levels. They show how different bricolage activities relate to different stages of the new product development process and further, highlight the complementarities between bricolage and engineering activities. The paper argues that bricolage, which is typically regarded as a behavioural trait or skill that allows entrepreneurs and innovators to operate in challenging environments, can also be a carefully planned and executed strategy conducive to innovation. Thus, it suggests that a cost-effective bricolage strategy can underpin emerging market companies’ development of discontinuity-creating and market disrupting technology products