Offshore Software Development: Two Case Studies Concerning Culture and Coordination

Offshore software development is an attractive option in terms of cost savings but the problems of overcoming the barriers of different cultures and time and space distanciation can be considerable. This paper examines two case studies of companies that set up offshore system development centres and contrasts their different experiences. We use a framework comprising structure, coordination and culture to analyse the case studies and to provide insight into the issues of offshoring. We find structure and coordination to be important but these are heavily influenced by the way the organization approaches national cultural differences, which is in turn heavily influenced by its own culture.