The Influence of Partner Knowledge Complementarities on the Effectiveness of IT Outsourcing

Despite the importance of knowledge complementarities to inter-firm cooperation, few researchers in information systems (IS) have examined, to date, the construct of knowledge complementarities (KC), and none have examined its role in the success of IT outsourcing alliances. In this paper, we distinguish between potential knowledge complementarities (PKC) and synergistic value, which comprise KC. PKC is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct encompassing knowledge types (similar and specialized) and knowledge domains (business and IT). Further, we examine the extent to which PKC between the client and the vendor promotes success in IT outsourcing alliances. This research also includes relative absorptive capacity because it is relevant when complementary knowledge flows between organizations. We used data from a field study of 81 firms in Korea to test the proposed model. Our findings indicate that each dimension of PKC contributes uniquely to knowledge complementarities. The results also show that PKC is significantly associated with IT outsourcing effectiveness. Relative absorptive capacity is found to be a moderator between PKC and IT outsourcing effectiveness. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in the paper.     

The Impact of Outsourcing Strategies on Information Systems Capabilities in the Hotel Industry

This work analyses the strategy of outsourcing information systems and information technology (IS/IT), considering the different activities comprising the IS/IT area. The literature on IS contains numerous works that analyse outsourcing, very few of which examine the relationship with the different types of capabilities in the IS/IT area and their strategic value. Most works centre on the motives for, and advantages of, the strategy of outsourcing the IS/IT area, while scant attention has been paid to the study of the long-term consequences of outsourcing. This work develops a theoretical model which is applied to the hotel sector and which shows that hotels following a more intensive outsourcing strategy develop fewer managerial capabilities related to knowledge in the management of IS/IT resources. This negative relationship extends to other types of capabilities typical of the area and to certain organisational capabilities. A negative relationship is also observed between the level of outsourcing and the strategic value given to the IS/IT area, which may lead to a lower potential for the development of competitive advantage.     

离岸IT服务外包发包方选择承接商的影响因素研究——基于上海地区的实证分析

本文基于上海地区,利用与本土IT外包承接企业有业务往来的跨国公司(发包方)数据,对离岸IT服务外包发包方选择承接商的影响因素进行研究。实证分析结果显示,承接企业的项目运营交付能力、国际市场品牌竞争力、行业知识和领域经验、技术和创新能力、风险管控能力等对发包方选择服务外包承接商有显著影响,跨文化沟通和协调、成本竞争力的影响不显著。本土服务外包承接企业可以根据这些因素有针对性地提升其在国际接包市场上的竞争力。     

Assessing Organizational Adoption of Information Systems Outsourcing

The information systems outsourcing (ISO) field continues to grow, as organizations consistently seek improvements in IT activities. The global scope of outsourcing participation and growth leads to gaps of knowledge related to the contextual factors that influence ISO adoption. Using the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, this study identifies and contextualizes the determinants of ISO adoption. Data collected from 261 firms suggest that relative advantage, firm size, top management support, and competitive pressure are the main determinants of ISO. This study highlights the importance of assessing ISO using the TOE theoretical lens, and offers replication of prior results, the lack of which is a growing concern in social science research.     

An outsourcing framework: action research in the heavy industry sector

Recent literature suggests that outsourcing, properly understood and managed as an integral part of strategy, can aid competitiveness. This paper examines the process of outsourcing manufacturing to understand its role in the new strategic agenda. A system model which indicates the critical workflow interfaces between the production system and internal support functions is proposed. The model helps determine the cross-functional interdependencies of the outsourcing process. A four-phase model of strategic outsourcing is then developed. The model serves both as an internal management tool and as an external marketing tool. This leads to synthesis of a practical framework that links six generic phases of outsourcing to strategic planning. The framework includes key activities with built-in performance measures and expected output for each of the phases. The research methodology combines theory study with case study and action research in Aalborg Industries, which operates in the heavy industry. Hence, the research pursues both academic and industrial application.     

Developing Information Systems to Support Flexible Strategy

The literature on strategic applications of information technology(IT) and strategic information systems (SIS) contains a number of "classic" success cases. These systems are successful in terms of one particular strategy framework, but there is evidence that the demands placed upon SIS are changing. Changes in the business environment and in the rate of development of technology have created a requirement for more flexibility in the strategic process. This must be supported by a "new generation" of SIS that integrate with flexible infrastructures to provide long-term effective support for a flexible business strategy. This article looks at the changing nature of the strategic: process and examines a framework that has potential to assist in these aims. A number of techniques are analyzed to assess their capability for identifying strategic applications of IT. Finally, a way of providing a flexible IS/IT infrastructure relevant to the development of a flexible SIS is discussed.     

企业IT外包绩效研究评述

目前,IT外包合作的较低的满意度已使人们日渐意识到提升和保障IT外包绩效的重要性,而对IT外包绩效的研究却是一个薄弱环节。为此,从IT外包战略决策与IT外包执行过程管理对IT绩效的影响以及IT外包的绩效评价与控制三个方面总结国内外学者不同的研究视角,并对相关研究成果进行评述。     

信息技术国际服务外包东道国选择影响因素实证研究

服务外包是国际分工深入发展的产物,它不仅为发达国家提供了配置全球资源的渠道,也使发展中国家进一步融入全球生产和服务体系。本文选取41个东道国的数据对影响信息技术国际服务外包东道国选择的因素进行了实证分析。研究显示:劳动力成本、劳动力素质、信息技术基础设施状况以及东道国的经济发展水平对信息技术国际服务外包东道国选择决策具有显著影响,文化差异程度无显著影响。最后在此基础上结合中国的现实情况提出增强我国成为服务外包东道国吸引力的措施。     

The management perception of the strategic outsourcing of services: An empirical examination in the hotel sector

This work will analyse the strategy of outsourcing, or the predisposition on the part of a firm to entrust some of its services to a third party. The research will focus on discovering empirically the role that this strategy plays in hotels, and in order to do this we will carry out an analysis of hotel managers' perceptions regarding outsourcing based on the main advantages as well as the drawbacks and barriers which using the strategy can involve, with a view to determining which of these are related to a predisposition to outsource. The results of the research suggest that the main reasons which determine outsourcing are of a strategic rather that cost-reducing nature. Despite the fact that although current outsourcing is conditioned by the cost factor alone, any future increase in the use of the strategy will be determined exclusively by factors of a strategic nature. With respect to the disadvantages of outsourcing which tend to limit the use of the strategy, we will see that these are related to loss of control and autonomy together with a distrust of external suppliers. This work will enable us to assess the extent of the existing demand for outsourcing main services as well as those factors which determine and limit the outsourcing strategy and which have prevented a large number of services where outsourcing would be applicable from being outsourced to the present date. Finally we will present our main conclusions and recommendations.     

Feasibility Frontier—A Method for Aligning Competitive Strategy with the Choice of IT Architectures

This article introduces an approach that addresses the challenge of aligning choices about IT architecture with the strategic goals of a corporation. This takes the form of a framework that captures how managers make IT architecture choices and how those choices impact an organization's competitive position. Based on microeconomic theory, the framework provides a set of conceptualizations for understanding alignment, plus some recommendations on how organizations should approach IT architecture adoption in a way that assures optimal alignment with strategic goals. The most important facilitating factor for the framework is the commitment to complete, accurate, and unbiased cost and quality assessment of business processes and their supporting IT infrastructure.     

Putting market-facing technology to work: Organizational drivers of CRM performance

A large proportion of firms that adopt customer relationship management (CRM) technology find it challenging to integrate CRM technology into their core marketing processes and utilize CRM strategically to appreciably improve their performance. The authors conceptualize a model to understand the drivers of superior CRM performance after CRM technology has been adopted by a firm and examine strategic utilization of CRM technology as driven by user acceptance and proficiency in the form of employee buy-in and expertise. Top management championship practices, employee information technology (IT) skills, and CRM knowledge are identified and examined as key building blocks toward strategic utilization. The empirical test of the conceptual model is based on a mail survey of North American firms that have adopted information technology-based CRM systems. The results, based on random effects model, show that strategic utilization of CRM technology leads to higher performance when there is an emphasis on using it to manage business-to-business rather than business-to-consumer relationships, user expertise (but not buy-in) impacts CRM performance through strategic utilization, and top management championship practices, CRM knowledge, and employee IT skills impact strategic utilization through buy-in and expertise.     

A passage to India: A dual case study of activities,processes and resources in offshore outsourcing of advanced services

Research has shown that offshore outsourcing processes may influence the behavior and strategic choices of firms, but little is known about the determining factors that influence the evolution and outcomes of those processes. Furthermore, longitudinal studies able to generate such insights are lacking. This paper suggests a detailed, activity-based approach to the study of the process of offshore outsourcing of high-value, advanced service activities. While earlier research has considered either firm-internal or firm-external sources of resource building, this study offers a more comprehensive theoretical model that combines resource-based theory and international business network theory. It aims to investigate how determinants of the offshore outsourcing process contribute to the resource stocks of client firms. Based on two longitudinal case studies of offshore outsourcing to India, the study finds that offshore outsourcing operations, in general, make positive contributions to the resource stocks of client firms. Some determinants contribute to the building of resources (partnership commitment decisions, knowledge creation and learning, trust building, the interconnectedness of resources) while others impede resource building (time compression diseconomies, lack of resource mass efficiencies). Notably, the interconnectedness among onshore activities, offshore activities and the underpinning knowledge resources reduces the risk of erosion of client firm resources, although this remains a long-term risk.     

Management of perceptions of information technology service quality

The present study evaluates the perception gaps of service quality between information technology (IT) service providers and their clients. IT services require high investments, which make analyzing its effectiveness increasingly important. To do this analysis, this study uses the instrument SERVPERF of the SERVQUAL model. The research took place in a large Brazilian retail bank, which identified gaps in perceptions between IT service providers and its clients. The findings suggest opportunities for improvement in the quality of IT services from a strategic alignment perspective, particularly in the following dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. The study also indicates some enhancements for the SERVQUAL model.     

A curriculum model for IT infrastructure management in undergraduate business schools

As information technology infrastructure becomes strategic to organizations, the author examines business-school programs that educate future infrastructure analysts. Information systems (IS) 2010 and information technology (IT) 2008 curriculum models are used to survey courses required by telecommunications and IT infrastructure programs in business schools. Of 525 Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business–accredited schools, 259 have IS/IT programs and 18 have telecommunications and infrastructure-related programs. IT Infrastructure, Networking-Advanced, and IT Security are the top three infrastructure-related courses. Programs also require courses including IS Project Management; Social and Professional Issues; and IS Strategy, Management and Acquisition. Data collected are used to develop a new curriculum model of IT infrastructure management program that can be offered by business schools.     

Organizing for knowledge flows within MNCs

This paper conceptualizes the multinational corporation (MNC) as a network of knowledge flows and argues that, within the same MNC, subsidiary strategic roles can be expected to differ in terms of the extent and directionality of knowledge flows between a focal subsidiary and the rest of the corporation. Building on this framework, the paper hypothesizes and empirically tests for systematic associations between a subsidiary's knowledge-flow based strategic role and the systems and processes linking the subsidiary to the rest of the corporation. The empirical data, collected from 359 subsidiaries of major US, Japanese, and European MNCs (i) provide strong support to the notion of differentiated knowledge flow roles as well as differentiated systems and processes within MNCs, and (ii) suggest that innovation by foreign subsidiaries is more typically the result of autonomous initiative by the subsidiaries rather than strategic directives issued from corporate headquarters.     

Outsourcing: Current and future trends

Highlighted are two reasons for outsourcing: cost and focus on the core competencies of the enterprise. Surveying U.S., U.K., and Continental Europe companies concerning current and future outsourcing trends positions outsourcing as a prominent strategic lever. Achieving “best‐of‐breed” practice is predicted to occur through new technology. Also, human resources and IT outsourcing will become more prominent. The results strongly indicate that partnership alliances and performance‐driven contracts will become as important as the current preferred, trusted supplier relationship. Keiretsulike, horizontal linkages will be required to realize scale and competency advantages from future outsourcing arrangements. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Co-evolution of institutional and organizational factors in explaining offshore outsourcing

Offshore outsourcing of business functions is widely practiced by firms in advanced economies. Although scholars have argued for various theoretical perspectives in explaining its nature and implications, a coherent explanation of how crucial factors that aid this growing phenomenon coevolve has not been offered. Further, a potential gap in the extant literature concerns inadequate simultaneous attention to clients and providers – the key actors in offshore outsourcing. With an aim to fulfill these research gaps, we provide in this paper an integrated framework wherein we delineate various institutional and organizational factors that coevolve to enable engagement of clients and providers in offshore outsourcing. Our conceptualization draws from information obtained by interviewing 46 executives of 31 firms of the Indian business process outsourcing industry.     

Performance effects of aligning service innovation and the strategic use of information technology

In the current dramatically changing business environment, innovation capability is the key to attaining competitive advantages for firms. Drawing on the concept of alignment, the present research proposes a service innovation alignment model within which service innovation and strategic use of information technology (IT) coexist in evaluating performance. Data for hypotheses testing are collected from top-ranked service companies in Taiwan. A total of 165 surveys were collected. Performance implications of alignment are examined using fit as covariation approach. The findings demonstrate that the alignment between service innovation and the strategic use of IT has significant impacts on service innovation performance as well as business performance.     

The role of change management in implementing the offshore outsourcing business model: a processual view

By means of the case study approach, the nature and process of organizational change related to the implementation of offshore IT outsourcing and the effectiveness of approaches used to manage this change were examined in three information systems departments of a multinational pharmaceutical company. The findings reveal that a combination of contextual factors influenced the adoption and use of offshore outsourcing. Organizational factors involved in the diagnosis and planning as well as implementation phases that contribute to or prevent the successful management of change are identified, and the most commonly reported effects of change resulting from offshore outsourcing are also analyzed.     

Outsourcing agrochemical services: economic or strategic logic?

Although the different perspectives of outsourcing—strategic versus economic—are taken into account in this research, our main objective is not to analyze the main reasons underlying this logic or to explain the decision behind outsourcing different activities. Instead, we aim to carry out a thorough analysis of the relationship between the characteristics of different service activities in terms of complexity, from a development point of view and the amount of knowledge firms’ gain from it and the theoretical approach underlying the outsourcing process. In this article, we test this proposal by analyzing the decisions to outsource services in R&D activities in the agrochemical industry.