Abstract
Rapid advances in technology and increased globalization and competitive pressures have forced many firms to search for alternatives that will reduce organizational cost, and at the same time create and/or maintain their competitive advantage in the global market. In this respect, many firms are turning to global outsourcing as a means of leveraging information technology (IT) for competitive advantage without having to worry about factors like technological obsolescence and skyrocketing IT expenditures. Of course, jumping onto an outsourcing deal without prior analysis of the situation and the vendor could make the organization worse off than before. Recent studies and anecdotal evidence point to the fact that even though a ‘watertight’ contract can absolve the client from many would be problems, the success and outcome of the outsourcing partnership ultimately depends on the management of the relationship. The management of the outsourcing contract becomes more complicated in cases where the vendor is based in a foreign country (International Outsourcing). The focus of this article is to present a contingency perspective of global IT outsourcing management (vis-a-vis control mechanisms) under various scenarios of the outsourcing context. Additionally, this study identifies a number of future research areas and proposes a direction for future research in the area of global IT outsourcing management.
Recommended Citation
Kumar, Ned and Palvia, Prashant, "Influence Factors and Control in International IT Outsourcing Management: A Contingency Perspective" (1998). AMCIS 1998 Proceedings. 146.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis1998/146