Three essays on IT outsourcing relationship management

Abstract

This dissertation consists of three empirical essays, which examines the relationship aspect of IS/IT out-sourcing from the public sector perspective. Relationship between service providers and service receivers has become an influential aspect for the success of IS/IT outsourcing arrangements. Understanding the relationship that arises in IS/IT outsourcing is critical since it comes about not only through the operationalization of the contract but also as a natural consequence of the resulting issues of dependency (Kern and Willcocks 2000). Summaries of the essays are presented as follows. In the first essay comprehensive literature review on IS/IT outsourcing relationship is conducted to identify the critical IS/IT outsourcing relationship factors. These relationship factors are then examined and ranked in accordance to their respective importance from the public sectors’ perception. In doing so, rigorous data collection method called a “ranking-type” Delphi method is employed. Thirty two public sector practitioners from twenty one different countries identify and rank top ten critical relationship factors through Delphi examination. The result indicates that the public sector perceives commitment as the most critical relationship factor followed respectively by trust, communication, cooperation, information/knowledge sharing, coordination, conflict resolution, flexibility, cultural compatibility and interdependence. The top ten ranked critical factors are then explained with particular emphasis on the success of IS/IT outsourcing relationships. Most of these ranked relationship factors greatly influence each other. Based on the inter-organizational relationship literature the influence of each of the ranked critical factors on the others is analyzed in order to have an in-depth understanding on these factors inter-relational roles in IS/IT outsourcing arrangements. The second essay examines the relationship in public sector IS/IT outsourcing by determining ...