A Systematic Literature Review on IT Outsourcing Decision and Future Research Directions

Abstract

During the recent decades, some academic research on the subject of information technology outsourcing (ITO) decision has appeared in different outlets, which may impede the use of such resources and as a result, repetition of research by various researchers is very likely. The purpose of this paper is then to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) pertaining to research on ITO decision. Then, this review intends to 1) classify ITO decision literature, 2) provide a list of factors affecting ITO decision, and 3) identify ITO strategies. To this end, 91 ITO articles published between 2000 and 2018 in 51 unique journals were reviewed. The results yielded three kinds of descriptive, relational, and comparative ITO decision studies. The determinants of ITO decisions are classified into technological, organizational, environmental and user adoption factors. Furthermore, the trend of studied ITO strategies in the reviewed literature is analyzed, and future sourcing varietals are proposed. Finally, some insights and future research directions are proposed based on the review results.

A Systematic Literature Review on 30 Years of Empirical Research on Information Systems Business Value

“…We only included journal articles published in English from 1990 to 2020 (there were only 11 papers till 1990, which is negligible). Furthermore, conference papers, textbooks, chapter books, and working papers were not included because academics and practitioners use journals to disseminate new findings (Hanafizadeh & Zareravasan, 2020).…”

Outsourcing: Overview and Trends

“…In addition, [53] point out that many researchers are aware of lacking longitudinal datasets, and they encouraged researchers to conduct longitudinal studies to help understand outsourcing. Another suggestion provided by [53] is to extend the related personnel to the parties responsible for outsourcing and the other stakeholders whose careers are impacted and/or threatened by the outsourcing decision.…”

“…Because of the development of technology, more and more information technology outsourcing strategy has discovered. Hanafizadeh and Zareravasan [53], based on their review of 91 Information technology outsourcing studies published between 2000 and 2018 in over 50 journals, summarized that the following seven strategies are the mainstream strategy of ITO: cloud computing, IT operations and maintenance outsourcing, information system development outsourcing, BPO, offshore outsourcing. The outsourcing firm shows a trend on relying on machine's computing capabilities and using a machine to replace human for repetitive behavior.…”

Cloud Computing

“…According to Hanafizadeh & Zareravasan (2020)'s SLR study during the period between 2011 and 2018, cloud computing has been the most studied outsourcing strategy. Borodako et al (2021) stated in their study that cloud services are gaining popularity in current business environments and emphasized the importance of using "cloud" (cloud data) in teamwork and brainstorming.…”