IT outsourcing governance
Client Types and Their Management Strategies
Information systems (IS) outsourcing is a significant factor in the professionalization, industrialization, and service orientation of the IT services industry, evolving into a prevalent business practice and research topic. Despite its popularity, many outsourcing arrangements fail due to divergent expectations and insufficient governance. Research indicates that a uniform governance model is inadequate; a tailored approach for different outsourcing clients is essential. This work introduces a differentiated method to explore various IS outsourcing relationships and their characteristics based on clients' underlying expectations. Drawing from existing outsourcing literature and theories in information systems, business administration, and social sciences, it develops a framework for classifying outsourcing projects and clients. This framework serves as a foundation for empirically examining different outsourcing initiatives, their components, and management strategies among German IT executives and CIOs. The insights gained lead to the proposal of suitable governance mechanisms tailored to the management needs of each outsourcing client type.
