A good contract is often the key to a successful IT outsourcing relationship. The contract defines the rights, liability, and expectations of both the outsourcing vendor and the outsourcing customer concerned and is often the only solid mechanism for regulating the relationship of the parties. Outsourcing contracts are often of high value and last a relatively long time. It is therefore of part...

What is the role of information technology (IT) in enabling the outsourcing of manufacturing plant production processes? Do plant strategies influence production outsourcing? Does production process outsourcing influence plant performance? This research addresses these questions by investigating the role of IT and plant strategies as antecedents of production outsourcing, and evaluating the imp...

An increasingly large number of firms outsource their Information Technology (IT). Firms that contemplate IT outsourcing have two alternatives: (1) contract with a vendor (i.e., outsourcing) or (2) set up their own IT subsidiary (i.e. quasi-outsourcing). This study examines some of the determinants of the outsourcing vs. quasi-outsourcing decision. Using primary data collected in France and Ger...

Many companies have recently been choosing information technology (IT) outsourcing in response to complicated information systems and various internal requirements. In order to monitor and maintain a high quality of IT outsourcing vendors’ services, it is necessary to develop a system to evaluate IT outsourcing customer satisfaction. The system can be used as a tool for choosing IT outsourcing ...

Many large organizations are increasingly outsourcing their IT functions. Factors like lower costs, improved productivity, higher quality, higher customer satisfaction, and ability to focus on core areas are some of the benefits of outsourcing. However, there are many challenges and risks associated with IT outsourcing. In this article, we identify the main risk factors and best practices in gl...

Though experiencing remarkable growth, many outsourcing deals failed or suffered from serious problems. The literature has explored either the relationship or contract issues in IT outsourcing success, however, few efforts have been paid to investigate the effects of both relationship and contract on IT outsourcing success from a holistic view. This study develops a conceptual model and empiric...

As sophistication and complexity in information technology (IT) increases, organisations are discovering difficulties in managing their information systems efficiently and effectively for commercial success. The access to state-of-the-art technologies has accelerated the need for different approaches to managing IT resources. Companies increasingly perceive IT outsourcing as a necessary organis...

The market for information technology outsourcing has seen significant growth in the last decade (GartnerGroup, 1998). Companies use IT outsourcing to increase the efficiency of their globalization process, while maintaining core competency strength. As a result, the ability to manage effective IT outsourcing projects is of utmost important to the success of IT managers (Sambamurthy & Zmud, 200...

Changes in the current business atmosphere where speed and agility are crucial call for simple outsourcing to evolve into more complex models of IT outsourcing. Change is constant, and nothing is certain, therefore unseen factors such as trust and culture become more important in IT outsourcing arrangements. This research-in-progress examines the role of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in manag...

This case study describes an Asian Information Technology (IT) outsourcing partnership in the discrete manufacturing industry. Interviews with business and IT executives of both the Outsourcing Company and the IT Services Supplier provided the necessary insights. Nowadays many organizations in discrete manufacturing move their plants to Asian countries or other lower wages countries. Most IT se...