Managing an IT-outsourcing partnership in Asia. Case study: the relationship between a global outsourcing company and its global IT services supplier

Author(s):  
E. Beulen ◽  
P. Ribbers
2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-61
Author(s):  
Brian Nicholson ◽  
Ron Babin ◽  
Steve Briggs

This article draws on the evidence gathered from a corporate social responsibility (CSR) research project in the area of global information technology (IT) outsourcing to examine the impact of liminality. IT outsourcing offers a novel context to study this phenomena, as it operates across the boundaries of both firm and country. The case study focuses on the specific project of a school in India, as the liminal space found ‘betwixt and between’ the client and provider of IT outsourcing services. Three stages of liminality are identified: separation (divestiture), transition (liminality) and incorporation (investiture); through the interpretive analysis of the empirical material. The construct of communitas is proposed for analysing the impact of liminality on the relationship between an outsourcing client and the provider. The understanding of liminality and communitas has both theoretical and practical implications, and contributes to the understanding of relationships and the wider role of CSR in global IT outsourcing.


Author(s):  
Hans Solli-Sæther ◽  
Petter Gottschalk

In order to understand the inherent complexities and the underlying constructs of managing IT outsourcing relationships and the performance of these relationships, empirical research was conducted. The empirical research in terms of an exploratory case study had the following guiding research questions: 1) How do client and vendor organizations manage their IT outsourcing relationship? 2) How do different stakeholders influence, or get influenced by, the IT outsourcing relationship? In this research context, the unit of analysis was both the relationship (question 1) and the individual stakeholders (question 2). As our goal was to explore managerial and individual issues, rather than analytical generalization, no research propositions or hypotheses were developed in advance of the empirical study. First in this chapter, we present the methodology applied in the case study process. Next, we present three internationally based IT outsourcing relationships that were studied (Solli-Sæther, 2006). In the following section, data collected are put into cross-case issues of managing IT outsourcing relationships. Finally, we use the theoretical framework developed in Chapter 2 for evaluating different aspects of the cases studied.


Author(s):  
Erik Beulen

The literature first devoted attention to IT outsourcing partnerships in 1990 (Gantz, 1990; Rochester & Douglas, 1990). An IT outsourcing partnership consists of a service recipient and one or more external service providers and the relationship between them. The service recipient hands over the responsibility for the execution of the IT services to the service provider but remains the responsibility for managing the IT outsourcing partnership. The relationship between the service recipient and the service provider is defined in contracts describing the mutual obligations. The contract value of IT outsourcing partnerships is substantial, meaning over 10 million US$ or Euros. These contracts are also long-term contracts. The average duration of contracts is over 36 months (Cox, 2002). This description is based on the work of Lacity and Hirschheim (1993), Willcocks, Fitzgerald and Feeny (1995), and Currie and Willcocks (1998). The IT services outsourcing market is still growing every year, approximately 10% (Cox, 2002). Therefore, it is essential that sufficient attention be devoted to the governance of IT outsourcing partnerships.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron Babin ◽  
Kim Bates ◽  
Sajeev Sohal

The aim of this essay is to argue the importance of inter-organizational trust in global outsourcing relationships and the need to proactively develop trust between the outsourcing buyer and provider. Outsourcing of information technology (IT) and related business processes is a well-established business tactic for reducing costs and gaining other benefits which include access to rare skills and faster delivery of services. IT outsourcing frequently occurs as a contract arrangement between two large, complex global organizations. Inter-organizational trust is one of the key elements for success in the outsourcing arrangement. Given the complexity of many outsourcing arrangements, the management of trust between the two parties can be critical to a successful long-term relationship for both parties. The ability of both parties to repair trust without resorting to legal action is important. This essay examines the literature on inter-organizational trust and trust relationships in outsourcing, then introduces preliminary field data from surveys and a case study, and suggests directions for further research. This issue deserves focused research as outsourcing continues to grow.


Author(s):  
Kristina Dietz

The article explores the political effects of popular consultations as a means of direct democracy in struggles over mining. Building on concepts from participatory and materialist democracy theory, it shows the transformative potentials of processes of direct democracy towards democratization and emancipation under, and beyond, capitalist and liberal democratic conditions. Empirically the analysis is based on a case study on the protests against the La Colosa gold mining project in Colombia. The analysis reveals that although processes of direct democracy in conflicts over mining cannot transform existing class inequalities and social power relations fundamentally, they can nevertheless alter elements thereof. These are for example the relationship between local and national governments, changes of the political agenda of mining and the opening of new spaces for political participation, where previously there were none. It is here where it’s emancipatory potential can be found.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-428
Author(s):  
Özgün Ünver ◽  
Ides Nicaise

This article tackles the relationship between Turkish-Belgian families with the Flemish society, within the specific context of their experiences with early childhood education and care (ECEC) system in Flanders. Our findings are based on a focus group with mothers in the town of Beringen. The intercultural dimension of the relationships between these families and ECEC services is discussed using the Interactive Acculturation Model (IAM). The acculturation patterns are discussed under three main headlines: language acquisition, social interaction and maternal employment. Within the context of IAM, our findings point to some degree of separationism of Turkish-Belgian families, while they perceive the Flemish majority to have an assimilationist attitude. This combination suggests a conflictual type of interaction. However, both parties also display some traits of integrationism, which points to the domain-specificity of interactive acculturation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 276-291
Author(s):  
Chatarina Natalia Putri

There are many factors that can lead to internship satisfaction. Working environment is one of the factors that will result to such outcome. However, many organizations discarded the fact of its importance. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a significant relationship between working environment and internship satisfaction level as well as to determine whether the dimensions of working environment significantly affect internship satisfaction. The said dimensions are, learning opportunities, supervisory support, career development opportunities, co-workers support, organization satisfaction, working hours and esteem needs. A total of 111 questionnaires were distributed to the respondents and were processed by SPSS program to obtain the result of this study. The results reveal that learning opportunities, career development opportunities, organization satisfaction and esteem needs are factors that contribute to internship satisfaction level. In the other hand, supervisory support, co-workers support and working hours are factors that lead to internship dissatisfaction. The result also shows that organization satisfaction is the strongest factor that affects internship satisfaction while co-workers support is the weakest.


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