Understanding Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Commitment from a Client-Provider Collaboration Approach

Understanding the formation of commitment in service-oriented outsourcing such as SaaS is important. We draw on the relational view to examine how client-provider collaboration and a client’s outsourcing management capability, that have hitherto been considered independently, can be combined to improve commitment. Empirical results from 169 firms supported most of our hypotheses. The results show that a client’s outsourcing management capability (behavior control, knowledge capability, relationship capability) positively affects client-provider collaboration (service investment, service flexibility, effective communication), which in turn positively influences commitment. Theoretical and practical implications of our results are discussed.