Review of 23 Years of Empirical Research on Information Technology Outsourcing Decisions and Outcomes

Abstract

The

Contractual and Relational Governance, ICT Skills and Organization Adaptations, and Cloud Computing Benefits

“…From the estimated CC benefits model we can see also that the second strongest positive effect is the one of the relational governance of firm's relationships with its CC services providers on CC benefits (standardized coefficient 0.224). This is in agreement with the conclusions of previous empirical research concerning the positive impact of the relational governance on the outcomes and benefits of ICT outsourcing [16,17,25]. This conclusion indicates that though CC services are a simple form of ICT outsourcing, based on the remote provision of highly standardized and minimally customizable ICT services, which are easily accessible in a self-service mode, with minimal interaction with their service provider [22], the development of a relationship with CC service providers continues to be important.…”

“…Therefore, having comprehensive and complex contracts with the CC service providers, defining the exact services to be provided, their quality levels, as well as sanctions for not achieving them, affects positively the benefits obtained from CC, though to a lower extent than the relational governance. This is also in agreement with the conclusions of previous empirical research concerning the positive impact of the contractual governance on the outcomes and benefits of ICT outsourcing [16,17,25].…”

“…Previous research in the area of ICT outsourcing has shown that both contractual and relational governance of firm's relationships with its external ICT services providers are important, and influence positively the outcomes and resulting benefits [8,11,16,17,18,25]. Taking into account that the use of CC services by firms is a specific form of ICT outsourcing, our study investigates to what extent the degree of contractual and relational governance of the relationships with CC services providers affect the magnitude of the benefits generated by CC.…”

“…Also, previous literature on ICT outsourcing has concluded that its outcomes and benefits are shaped by a variety of factors, which concern the contractual and relational governance of firm's relationships with its external ICT services providers, the characteristics and capabilities of the provider and the client firm, etc. (see literature reviews in [16,17]); since the use of CC services by firms is a specific form of ICT outsourcing these factors might influence the benefits generated by CC as well.…”

Knowledge Boundary Spanning Mechanisms in a Shared Services Centre Context

“…To remain competitive, organizations are transforming the way they deliver their information technology (IT) services through the utilization of different sourcing approaches [24]. Among the different available business models of IT sourcing, some companies choose the Shared Services Centre (SSC) model.…”