Information Systems Offshore Outsourcing: An Exploratory Study of Motivations and Risks in Large Spanish Firms

Abstract

Information systems offshore outsourcing is motivated by such factors as globalisation, technological development and the possibility to explore new markets. However, both the geographical and the cultural distance create more risks than in onshore outsourcing. The aim of this paper is to develop a typology of firms based on the specific motivations and risks associated with offshore outsourcing in large Spanish firms.

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

“…E10 -Geo-distance between client and vendor: The extent to which the time zone of the ITO location to major markets and company headquarters are close (Graf & Mudambi, 2005). E11 -Client-side infrastructures: Required telecommunication infrastructure to support outsourced services in the client side region (Gonzalez, Gasco, & Llopis, 2010). E12 -Vendor support: The quality of supplier support activities that can significantly influence the probability that an operation will be outsourced to a vendor (Alshamaila et al, 2013).…”

Information System Backsourcing: A Systematic Literature Analysis

“…Additional matchings can be identified when the stated risks for ISO are compared to the drivers for IS backsourcing. Gonzalez et al [3] addressed risks for the client from different aspects, such as economic (e.g., unemployment rates, poor infrastructure), local (e.g., differences in culture, mentality, language and knowledge transfer or legal problems) and managerial risks (e.g., low quality, additional effort, hidden costs). A striking matching regarding the results of the review is the risk of impacting (internal and external) customer relationships, which is rarely stated in the ISO literature.…”

“…What seems like an ideal solution comes with a variety of This work was not supported by any organization risks and problems. These range from global client risks, which include the state of the labour market and the infrastructure in the provider's country, to local client risks, such as cultural differences, different time zones, language problems, knowledge transfer and technical skills, which hamper the quality of the cooperation [3]. Further risk factors are, for example, interest conflicts, low product or service quality, high turnover rates on the provider-side, additional work and extra costs for the client and technologyrelated risks [4].…”

Tensions in Global IT Multisourcing Arrangements: Examining the Barriers to Attaining Common Value Creation

“…IT outsourcing arrangements have evolved from dyadic client-vendor relationship toward an environment that includes multiple vendors (Bapna, Barua, Mani, & Mehra, 2010;Palvia, King, Xia, & Palvia, 2010;Sia, Koh, & Tan, 2008). The shift from single sourcing toward multisourcing arrangements provides firms with benefits, like quality improvements, by being able to select the best vendors, having access to external capabilities and skills and mitigating the risks of vendor lock in (Cohen & Young, 2006;Gonzalez, Gasco, & Llopis, 2010;Hawk et al, 2012). Literature shows that firms that engage in global collaborative networks significantly invest in time, commitment and trust-building to create and capture common value (Romero & Molina, 2011), by interacting with multiple sourcing participants (Ceccagnoli, Forman, Huang, & Wu, 2012).…”