Information Systems Outsourcing in Theory and Practice

Willcocks, Leslie P.; Lacity, Mary C.

doi:10.1057/jit.1995.24

Cited by 37 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Environmental technical uncertainty is the extent to which the technical skill sets required for the completion of tasks within an IS function constantly change due to the technological environment (Willcocks and Lacity 1995). The construct of environmental uncertainty is frequently used in outsourcing studies (e.g.…”

Section: Environmental Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the determinants of outsourcing partnership quality in Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises

Ren

Ngai

Cho

2009

International Journal of Production Research

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Research on information technology (IT) and information systems (IS) outsourcing has been expanding in recent years and this trend is likely to continue. However, few studies have systematically examined the determinants of partnership quality in IT/IS outsourcing. In this study, we propose a research model to examine partnership quality formation factors in the pre-implementation stage in Chinese small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on previous partnership studies and small and medium business theories, we identify four sets of antecedents of partnership quality characteristics: perceived outsourcing benefits, outsourcing readiness, human characteristics and environmental technical uncertainty. The results of this study show that perceived benefits, outsourcing management competence, outsourcing cognisance and top management's attitude towards outsourcing are significantly related to partnership quality. The implications for theory and practice are discussed.

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Section: Environmental Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the determinants of outsourcing partnership quality in Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises

Ren

Ngai

Cho

2009

International Journal of Production Research

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“…TCT basically describes, from an economic perspective, the motivation for a company to either provide a good or service internally or purchase it externally. This theory is consistently used in the outsourcing literature to evaluate the choice of outsourcing or providing in-house IT services (Willcocks and Lacity, 1995;Aubert, Rivard, and Patry, 2004). Because successful interorganizational relationships depend on the efficient management of economic investments (i.e.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research has shown that the presence of high switching costs may lock customers into a relationship in which they are dissatisfied (Willcocks & Lacity, 1995;Morgan & Hunt, 1994). Customers may feel dependent upon a provider if they have little experience with other vendors, thus increasing their uncertainty about switching from the current vendor.…”

Section: Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research has shown that the presence of high switching costs can cause customers to stay in relationships in which they are dissatisfied (Jones, Mothersbaugh, and Beatty 2002; Morgan and Hunt 1994a; Porter, 1980;Weiss and Anderson, 1992;Willcocks and Lacity 1995). In situations where switching costs were not present, customers were more agile and reacted by switching vendors (Heide and Weiss 1995;Jones and Sasser 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adaptability in IT Sourcing: The Impact of Switching Costs

Whitten

2010

Global Sourcing of Information Technology and Business Processes

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Firms have an increasing need today to develop a sourcing strategy that is more strategic than in years past. Firms need to maintain a strategy of adaptability in order to mitigate the risks associated with outsourcing. A major influence on the adaptability of a firm in the short-and long-term is the switching costs associated with bring an outsourced activity back inhouse (backsource) or switching to another vendor. As switching costs increase, firms are increasingly "locked in" to a vendor. Firms should therefore work to decrease the switching costs so that they are more able to switch to another vendor or backsource if the market changes or an outsourcing relationship sours. Three strategies are presented for lowering switching costs.

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“…This potential has been realized by the large corporate outsourcing stories that have unfolded in the past several years. Such companies as American Airlines, British Petroleum, General Dynamics, Kodak, McDonnell Douglas, Xerox, and the major automobile manufacturers have all employed outsourcing and have improved not only their cost competitiveness, but also their product quality (Willcocks and Lacity, 1995). This has been especially prevalent in the information technology (IT) area, where analysts estimate that 70 percent of the country's largest corporations have outsourced that area ("Outsourcing Megadeals," 1995).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Outsourcing Automatic Data Processing Requirements and Support

Washington¹

1999

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Outsourcing has become an increasingly popular way to reduce costs and focus operations upon the main objectives of an organization. This article considers outsourcing in general, and automatic data processing (ADP) outsourcing in particular. Private industry and government each have their respective successes and failures; lessons learned from them should guide outsourcing decisions. In general, outsourcing, especially of ADP processes, has been popular, but it should not be expected to produce savings in all instances; rather, most gains with outsourcing have been quality improvement. With foresight and proper structuring of the contract, more successes will come.

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Information Systems Outsourcing in Theory and Practice

Cited by 37 publications

References 14 publications

Examining the determinants of outsourcing partnership quality in Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises

Examining the determinants of outsourcing partnership quality in Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises

Adaptability in IT Sourcing: The Impact of Switching Costs

Outsourcing Automatic Data Processing Requirements and Support

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