Cross-project learning : a study based on the Israeli electronics defence industry

This thesis alms to develop a comprehensive understanding of cross-project learning in multiple-project environments. Cross-project learning is the process through which technologies are transferred and reused within organisations. Recent years have seen a growing interest in cross-project learning. However, research in this area has emphasised the rational, classical approach to crossproject learning. Also, the majority of research on cross-project learning has largely been on the automobile industry in Japan and the USA. Thirdly, research in this field has failed to assess the impact that cross-project learning has had on other organisational processes in product development. The conclusions of these studies are context-specific, fragmented and lack any critical assessment of the process of introducing cross-project learning. This study argues that a rather different approach to cross-project learning is needed. A three-level analysis is applied in the present study that highlights operational, dysfunctional and strategic aspects in cross-project learning. The empirical core of the research is the evidence from three in-depth case studies conducted in the Israeli electronics defence industry. Three different approaches to cross-project learning have been identified at the operational level, offering organisational mechanisms and managerial practices that have not previously been reported. At the dysfunctional operations level, the study reveals that the introduction of innovations in cross-project learning has impacted the past harmony between expertise development and knowledge management practices. The findings suggest that this harmony has broken down while the knowledge management and expertise development practices have been further transformed and developed. Lastly, at the strategic level of analysis, two potential cross-project learning strategies have been detected: exploit product success and design to reuse. A contingency model that emphasises the evolutionary development path of 'modes of reusability', subject to the 'strategic development' of the studied companies, concludes this study

Re-representation as work design in outsourcing : a semiotic view

Outsourcing work relies on the supplier’s interpretation of the work delegated by the client. Existing streams of outsourcing literature tend to assume that the supplier should use the same convention as the client to make sense of the work package. In this research, we use a semiotic lens to challenge this assumption by viewing such sensemaking as a process of decoding symbolic representations. This complementary view involves innovative use of digital technology for re-representing the outsourced work through new conventions. We studied a Chinese business process outsourcing supplier in-depth to learn how such re-representation is achieved through the creation of special-purpose languages. Our research contributes to the Information Systems outsourcing literature by providing a semiotic view on the design of outsourcing work supported by digital technologies. Three re-representation practices (i.e., dissociating the signifiers, signifying through new conventions, and embedding new conventions in the digital infrastructure) constitute the core of this view. The results are highly significant for outsourcing theory and practice, not least since they suggest that the use of semiotics and visuals for re-representation may enable suppliers to reformulate outsourcing work and the expertise needed to deliver services

Regulating Vendor-Client Workarounds: An Information Brokering Approach

Under pressure to deliver value, whilst driving down costs, shared service units (SSUs) themselves are turning to outsourcing. Despite efforts to manage both relationships, it can be the case that the SSU’s internal clients communicate directly with an external vendor, exchanging information which bypasses the SSU. The use of such illegitimate communication channels lead to what we refer to in this paper as Vendor-Client (V-C) workarounds. How units cope with V-C workarounds to limit detrimental impacts, whilst encouraging or accommodating those of potential benefit, has been largely understudied. This working paper draws on preliminary data, from the shared finance unit of a global logistics organization, to answer our main research question: How do SSUs regulate existing Vendor-Client workarounds to benefit information flow? In answering the question, we take an Information Brokering perspective to help explain the how SSUs leverage their position as intermediaries and manage information interfaces to regulate workarounds

Understanding knowledge re-intergration in back sourcing

Backsourcing is the process where a client firm brings previously outsourced services from a supplier back in-house. Traditionally, the existing literature on backsourcing has focused on how firms reach the decision to bring back previously outsourced services. In this paper, we move beyond focusing on IT backsourcing decision to explore the process of backsourcing from a knowledge perspective. The predominant view in the relevant literature argues that the re-acquisition of knowledge by a client firm during backsourcing takes place similarly to knowledge acquisition by a supplier in a typical outsourcing process. In this paper, we argue that knowledge re-integration in backsourcing occurs differently from outsourcing projects mainly because of the existence of knowledge asymmetries between the client and the supplier. By examining seven backsourcing events, we reveal that knowledge transfer and re-integration in backsourcing emerges as a coordinative activity, complementing knowledge transfer mechanisms reported in the IS outsourcing literature

Digital Sustainability in Information Systems Research: Conceptual Foundations and Future Directions

In this editorial, we develop the concept of digital sustainability for the IS community. By systematically reviewing the Green IT and Green IS literatures, we show that the IS field has lagged behind current discourse in practice and therefore lacks the conceptualization of the relationships between digital technologies and sustainability. Digital sustainability is defined in this editorial as the development and deployment of digital resources and artifacts toward improving the environment, society, and economic welfare. We hope that this editorial motivates IS researchers to engage in digital sustainability as an emerging research area

Before, During, and After Face-to-Face Meetings: The Lifecycle of Social Ties in Globally Distributed Teams

This paper explores the neglected area of social ties in globally dispersed teams. The paper proposes a framework in which three stages in the development of social ties in a globally distributed team are considered: before face-to-face (F2F), during F2F, and after F2F meetings. These stages constitute the lifecycle of social ties in globally distributed teams. Based on data collected at LeCroy and SAP, various activities and mechanisms at the individual, group, and organizational level that support the build-up and renewal of social ties between distributed teams are proposed. In applying these activities and mechanisms, the case firms shifted from investing in the introduction of remote counterparts to creating trust and rapport between remote counterparts and eventually to continuously renewing these social ties. The paper concludes by offering managers practical implications and making suggestions for future research

Can Client Firms Achieve Radical Innovation in IT Outsourcing?

There is growing evidence that client firms expect outsourcing suppliers to transform their business. Most outsourcing vendors indeed deliver incremental innovation to client firms. However, radical innovation in outsourcing is more challenging to achieve. While prior studies have provided some evidence regarding how innovation in outsourcing may take place, research has so far failed to conceptualize and operationalize the factors affecting radical innovation in outsourcing. It is not yet clear how contractual and relational aspects affect such innovation. This paper, therefore, is set about exploring the effect of contract types and client-supplier relationship on radical innovation. Results suggest that joint-venture contract and strong client-supplier relationship lead to radical innovation while time and materials and fixed-price contracts are less likely to lead to radical innovation. The strength of client-supplier relationship mediates the effect of joint venture contract on radical innovation. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and practical implications

Knowledge Overlap in Nearshore Service Delivery

Multinational organizations now increasingly source tasks from nearshore units. While, offshore locations promise superior opportunities for cost savings and access to large scale, flexible workforces, organisations are increasingly distributing work much closer to home (Deliotte 2014). One of the biggest attractions of nearshore locations is proximity. In principle nearshore units are geographically, temporally, and culturally closer to their onshore counterparts reducing the cost and coordination effort to manage distance. Despite the anticipation that onshore units and nearshore units will operate effectively from distinctive and separate knowledge bases, they continue to be bogged down by knowledge overlaps. Knowledge overlaps (KOs) are a duplication of information and know-how of specific migrated activities that allow onshore units to retain control of nearshore units. In this paper, we draw on data from an on-going qualitative case study to demonstrate how nearshore units manage KOs and relinquish control of processes

East, west, would home really be best? On dissatisfaction with offshore-outsourcing and firms' inclination to backsource

With so many firms seemingly disenchanted with their experiences of offshore outsourcing one may well wonder why relatively few of these firms choose to ‘backsource’ – i.e., bring their offshored operations back in-house. Of all sourcing decisions that firms take, backsourcing is perhaps the least understood and least researched. In this article we draw on the behavioral theory of the firm (BTF) to propose a new model in which differences in firms' inclination to backsource are ascribed to the level of dissatisfaction at not having achieved offshoring aspirations. Building on BTF concepts of bounded rationality, problemistic search and satisficing decisions, the model suggests that how this dissatisfaction with offshoring affects a firm's inclination to backsource is dependent on managerial expectations regarding the technical challenges of reintegrating activities and the possible financial losses and decline in quality following backsourcing, as well as on internal political support and financial slack for backsourcing. SEM analysis of data from U.S. and U.K. firms shows support for the model. The study highlights the importance of recognizing the role of managerial perceptions and biases and subgroup political relations in shaping firms' backsourcing behaviors. We also discuss the study's contributions to research and practice