PurposeOffshore outsourcing of non‐core business process has rapidly evolved as a ubiquitous organisational phenomenon. However, failure to follow a clear, systematic and effective outsourcing strategy to evaluate threats, uncertainties and numerous imponderables can cause global enterprise businesses major setbacks. The reasons for such setback could be largely due to lack of core competency, careful legal planning and due diligence to operating models associated with an outsourcing initiative. This paper attempts to collate and exemplify the distinct qualifying processes accommodating contractual and intellectual property rights and provide a worthwhile debate on intricate legal considerations when structuring multi‐jurisdictional outsourcing deals.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a comparative analysis of strategic legal and management framework by weighing the risks and evaluating the threats which would assist the decision making process of firms when selecting an appropriate offshore partner to carry out their IT‐development work.FindingsImportance of legal intervention and due diligence to service agreements is further elevated as, at every phase of an outsourcing arrangement, compliance issues and contractual obligations can affect the success of an enterprise customer and its relationship with their outsourcing service provider.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors suggest that an exhaustive qualitative and quantitative industry specific research analysis be conducted in order to better define the principles and standards governing sub‐contracting arrangements.Practical implicationsA broader exposure to the strategic management and regulatory framework might provide firms with vantage points from which they could assess and identify new opportunities, evaluate threats and adopt effective risk mitigation strategies. Compliance to security standards and safeguard of information acquisition, analysis and usage should emerge as the mainstream strategy for outsourcing.Originality/valueThe paper offers insights and an overview of management and legal issues in the context of offshore technology outsourcing.
The practice of information systems/information technology (IS/IT) outsourcing is a major issue which has received much attention, as shown by the extensive literature on the topic. However, most works on outsourcing have focused on theoretical topics, and there are but a few empirical, quantitative studies. This chapter presents an empirical study of IS/IT outsourcing in Spain, which has been conducted along the lines of prior research carried out in different countries, and which focuses on the types, functions and targets of outsourcing contracts. We also attempt to examine the influence that this practice may have on the organizations’ management structure. A survey carried out on 530 Spanish firms has shown that 50% of Spanish large firms have outsourced part of their IS/IT, whereas outsourcing is practiced by 20% of medium-sized enterprises. Finally, it has been observed that the most frequently outsourced activities in Spain are hosting and Internet-related services.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.