Abstract
Recently, Information systems (IS) outsourcing has been becoming a viable strategic alternative in the management of information systems. Accordingly, the demand of research in practice has been changed from how to decide IS outsourcing to how to manage IS outsourcing. However, there is little known about the management of IS outsourcing in existing literature. Moreover, the existing studies suggest conflicting solutions in accordance with their own perspectives : competitive relationship vs. cooperative relationship. The purpose of this study is to address this conflicting result, and consequently to enhance an understanding of IS outsourcing management by introducing the concept of interorganizational control. To meet this purpose, this study adopts Lee(2003)'s integrative model of IS outsourcing management based on the existing literature from different management disciplines and different perspectives, and then conducts four case studies. The result reveals that users, as well as IS manager, play a critical role in controlling IS outsourcing. Moreover, they implement a portfolio of control modes including both informal and formal modes. The result also suggests that the choice of particular control mechanism depends on client, supplier, task, and relationship characteristics.
webmaster
