As the information systems (IS) outsourcing trend has gained momentum, it is prudent to stop and reflect on several critical questions: What are the actual intentions of organizations for evaluating and then choosing outsourcing? What problems are these organizations attempting to solve with outsourcing? Do vendors satisfactorily provide solutions to these problems? What are the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing? If an organization decides to outsource, are there strategies which can be employed to assure an effective outsourcing arrangement? What happens if outsourcing does not work for a particular company; can it return to a non-outsourced state and at what cost? How do new sourcing trends, like application service providing, challenge the traditional IS outsourcing life cycle? Questions such as these motivated the conceptual development of this book. It thus offers a roadmap of the IS outsourcing academic literature, highlihting what has been so far and how the whole fits together under a common umbrella.

Klappentext

This book attempts to synthesize what is known about information systems (IS) outsourcing by dividing the subject into six interrelated parts. It contains an excellent collection of high-quality articles on information systems outsourcing and examples of successful outsourcing in organizations through empirical surveys and case studies. It also offers new insights into hot topics such as information technology offshoring.

Inhalt

I: Overview.- Information Systems Outsourcing in the New Economy - An Introduction.- On the Theoretical Foundations of Current Outsourcing Research.- II: Determinants of the IS Outsourcing Decision.- Costs, Transaction-Specific Investments and Vendor Dominance of the Marketplace: The Economics of IS Outsourcing.- Outsourcing of Information Systems in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: A Test of a Multi-Theoretical Causal Model.- IT Sourcing - A Dynamic Phenomenon: Forming an Institutional Theory Perspective.- A Taxonomy of Employment Insourcing and Outsourcing Strategies in Information Systems.- III: Arranging and Managing IS Outsourcing Relationships.- Managing IT Outsourcing Risk: Lessons Learned.- Applying Traditional Risk-Return Analysis to Strategic IT Outsourcing Decisions.- Further Thoughts on Information Structure, Knowledge Management and Outsourcing.- Current and Future Directions of IS Outsourcing.- Relational Exchange Theory and IS Outsourcing: Developing a Scale to Measure Relationship Factors.- IV: Experiences and Outcome of IS Outsourcing.- The Normative Value of Transaction Cost Economics: What Managers Have Learned About TCE Principles in the IT Context.- Spiraling Effect of IS Outsourcing Contract Interpretations.- Success of Outsourcing and Strategic Alignment as Predictors of IS Effectiveness.- Outsourcing: A View from Those Doing the Work.- Four Stories of Information Systems Insourcing.- V: Integration, Transaction and Recruitment Platforms.- IS Integration in the Internet Age: Exploring Alternate Infrastructure Sourcing Strategies.- Transaction Platforms as Flexible Interorganizational Systems: The Case of M-Commerce Payment Services in the Financial Logistical Management of the Dutch Payment Industry.- Cybermediaries Supporting the Management of Independent Workers: A Case Study of Extended Outsourcing Relationships.- VI: Application Service Providing (ASP).- Application Service Provision: The IS Infrastructure Context.- A Market Segmentation Strategy for Developing an ASP Business.- Impact of Vendor Capabilities on ASP Performance.- Service Provision and the Net: Risky Application Sourcing?.- List of Contributors.- Sponsors.