@article{KobusWestnerStrahringer, author = {Kobus, J{\"o}rn and Westner, Markus and Strahringer, Susanne}, title = {Change management lessons learned for Lean IT implementations}, series = {International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management}, volume = {5}, journal = {International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management}, number = {1}, pages = {47 -- 60}, abstract = {Lean Management is a standard production mode that has been familiar to production organizations for several decades. To date, however, academic literature has presented surprisingly little information about the application of Lean Management in Information Technology (IT) organizations, or what is called Lean IT. Drawing upon an empirical qualitative case study of the IT departments of two multinational companies, in this paper we identify change management lessons learned for Lean IT implementations, as well as seven characteristics of a corresponding change management approach. As an extension of our work, researchers should validate and expand our initial findings, preferably in a quantitative setting.}, subject = {Betriebliches Informationssystem}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{WulfWestnerSchoenetal., author = {Wulf, Frederik and Westner, Markus and Sch{\"o}n, Maximilian and Strahringer, Susanne and Loebbecke, Claudia}, title = {Preparing for a Digital Future: Cloud Strategy at Continental AG}, series = {Proceedings of the 40th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2019): Munich, Germany, December 15-18}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 40th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2019): Munich, Germany, December 15-18}, pages = {1 -- 16}, abstract = {This paper is directed towards IT executives aiming to promote the adoption of cloud computing (CC) with in their company. We conducted a longitudinal case study on the evolving CC strategy and its implementation at the multinational company Continental, based on a previous case study by Loebbecke et al. (2012). We narrate Continental's pathway towards CC adoption, which comprised the experimentation, professionalization, and utilization of CC, and discuss current and previous barriers encountered during the implementation. We derive five lessons learned that can serve as practical guidance for executives aiming to accelerate CC adoption within their own organization: (1) differentiate the CC strategy by delivery model; (2)drive proof of concepts to generate reusable blueprints; (3) preinvest in the integration of IaaS and PaaS providers; (4) implement CC gradually, transforming applications during the transition to the cloud; and (5) disseminate knowledge within the organization to enable change.}, subject = {Cloud Computing}, language = {en} } @article{WestnerStrahringer, author = {Westner, Markus and Strahringer, Susanne}, title = {Determinants of success in IS offshoring projects}, series = {Information \& Management}, volume = {47}, journal = {Information \& Management}, number = {5-6}, pages = {291 -- 299}, abstract = {High labor cost in western countries allows cost savings by companies engaging in IS offshoring. However, studies worldwide indicate that a large number of companies that engaged in IS offshoring are not satisfied with the outcome. Our study examined the determinants of IS offshore project success: We developed a model and empirically tested it with data collected from 304 experts who reported on projects offshored from Germany to a wide range of near and distant countries. The model posited a direct effect of offshoring expertise and trust in offshore service provider (OSP) on success, as well as an indirect effect mediated by project suitability, knowledge transfer, and liaison quality. An analysis using partial least squares (PLSs) provided significant support for almost all these relationships. However, it showed that offshoring expertise played a minor role in explaining success and the mediating constructs. Trust in OSP had a small direct effect on success and a medium to large effect on the mediating constructs. Project suitability, knowledge transfer, and liaison quality all had small direct effects on success.}, subject = {Betriebliches Informationssystem}, language = {en} } @article{WestnerStrahringer, author = {Westner, Markus and Strahringer, Susanne}, title = {The current state of IS offshoring in Germany}, series = {Journal of Information Technology Management}, volume = {21}, journal = {Journal of Information Technology Management}, number = {1}, pages = {49 -- 70}, abstract = {This paper empirically examines the current state of the IS offshoring phenomenon in Germany regarding project characteristics and success patterns. Relying on a sample of 304 projects conducted at various industry sectors and companies, results show that IS offshoring primarily occurs in sectors Telecommunications and IT at large corporations. Cost reduction is the main reason for going offshore and offshore projects are executed as part of a larger program at companies. Noticeably, most projects are delivered from India. Additionally, neither captive offshoring nor offshore outsourcing dominates as a de-livery option. Comparing different project subgroups regarding project success, the results reveal that projects delivered by an internal or partially owned service provider are more successful. Other project characteristics such as a project's embedded-ness in a larger offshoring program, a project's size, or a project's offshoring degree in terms of relatively offshored labor hours show few significant differences. The paper addresses the paucity of empirical research on the current state of the IS offshoring phenomenon in Germany.}, subject = {Betriebliches Informationssystem}, language = {en} } @article{WestnerStrahringer, author = {Westner, Markus and Strahringer, Susanne}, title = {Evaluation criteria for selecting offshoring candidates}, series = {Journal of Information Technology Management}, volume = {19}, journal = {Journal of Information Technology Management}, number = {4}, pages = {16 -- 34}, abstract = {The identification of suitable applications or projects is a main initial step in any software development or maintenance related IS offshoring arrangement. This paper examines evaluation criteria and their importance for selecting application or project candidates for offshoring. Based on a literature analysis and interviews with 47 experts from 36 different German companies describing 64 case examples, we find that in contrast to the literature, "size", "codification", and "language" are perceived as important selection criteria by experts. Case examples additionally show that "business specificity" seems to be a main reason for application or project failures, that "business criticality" appears to be less important than suggested by the literature, and that adequate "size" might be a necessary prerequisite, but seems not to be a sufficient criterion for an application's or project's suitability for offshoring. These differences in comparison to findings from the literature may be explained by cultural and language differences.}, subject = {Betriebliches Informationssystem}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{WulfStrahringerWestner, author = {Wulf, Frederik and Strahringer, Susanne and Westner, Markus}, title = {Information security risks, benefits, and mitigation measures in cloud sourcing}, series = {Proceedings of the IEEE 21th Conference on Business Informatics (CBI): 2019, Moscow, Russia}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the IEEE 21th Conference on Business Informatics (CBI): 2019, Moscow, Russia}, pages = {258 -- 267}, abstract = {This paper develops a categorization of cloud security risks, elaborates how they impact information security, and discusses potential security benefits from cloud sourcing. This review integrates the literature on information systems and computer science to summarize managerial and technological mitigation measures that enhance cloud security. The analysis uncovers gaps regarding the empirical investigation of security considerations in the corporate decision-making process. Specifically, the micro level of how security comes into play in the decision-making process and whether mitigation measures proposed by scholars are practically feasible requires further investigation. Furthermore, the macro level, how stakeholders perceive cloud sourcing, is not yet well understood.}, subject = {Cloud Computing}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{BaryWestnerStrahringer, author = {Bary, Benedikt von and Westner, Markus and Strahringer, Susanne}, title = {Do researchers investigate what practitioners deem relevant?}, series = {Proceedings of the 20th IEEE International Conference on Business Informatics (IEEE CBI 2018): Vienna, Austria, 11-14 July}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 20th IEEE International Conference on Business Informatics (IEEE CBI 2018): Vienna, Austria, 11-14 July}, doi = {10.1109/CBI.2018.00014}, pages = {40 -- 49}, abstract = {There is a common understanding amongst academics that information systems (IS) research sometimes has limited relevance for practitioners. This can be explained by the fact that research lags behind the fast moving IS environment, has limited practical applicability and is hard to access. We have focused on the research area of IS backsourcing, and analyzed practitioner literature to increase our understanding of topics of interest for practitioners, to determine a potential gap between academic and practitioner literature, and to identify future research directions in this field. We observed that most publications are either news or background articles, focusing on describing backsourcing cases. Additionally, we identified four recurring themes, namely reasons for backsourcing, presentation of survey results, discussion of industry trends, and backsourcing success stories. The main reasons identified to trigger backsourcing decisions are cost savings, quality improvements, and increasing control and flexibility. By comparing our findings with academic literature on IS backsourcing, we conclude that generally both literature types cover similar topics. However, researchers have a more formulative or interpretive focus than the often descriptive practitioner literature. Academic literature also examines a broader range of topics, while practitioner literature has a narrower focus. Additionally, we observe one difference regarding applied terminology: while researchers employ the term backsourcing, practitioners mostly use back in-house or insourcing. Our paper contributes to facilitating the exchange between academics and practitioners, presents topics to consider when aiming to increase practical relevance and provides researchers with concrete directions for future research within the field of IS backsourcing.}, subject = {Betriebliches Informationssystem}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{KoenningWestnerStrahringer, author = {K{\"o}nning, Michael and Westner, Markus and Strahringer, Susanne}, title = {Multisourcing on the Rise: Results from an Analysis of more than 1,000 IT Outsourcing Deals in the ASG Region}, series = {Tagungsband Multikonferenz Wirtschaftsinformatik 2018 (MKWI 2018): data driven X - turning data into value, Leuphana Unversit{\"a}t L{\"u}neburg, 6.-9. M{\"a}rz 2018}, booktitle = {Tagungsband Multikonferenz Wirtschaftsinformatik 2018 (MKWI 2018): data driven X - turning data into value, Leuphana Unversit{\"a}t L{\"u}neburg, 6.-9. M{\"a}rz 2018}, number = {Band V}, publisher = {Leuphana, Universit{\"a}t L{\"u}neburg}, address = {L{\"u}neburg}, pages = {1813 -- 1824}, abstract = {Information technology outsourcing (ITO) has long been recognized for its numerous potential advantages such as lowering costs, accessing external skills, and improving efficiency, flexibility, and quality. However, it also exposes client companies to various risks, including vendor lock-in, poor agility, or insufficient vendor expertisein individual domains, especially inincreasingly dynamic market environments. Consequently, companies increasingly implement multisourcing by composing a "best of breed" set of vendors for their various IT services. In this paper,we use a dataset of 1,016 ITO deals closed with Austrian, Swiss, and German client companies between 2006 and 2017 to analyze the development of the ITO market in general and multisourcing in particular. Our results show decreasing services run rates, shorter contract lengths, an increasing number of concurrent service providers per client,and a distribution of the total number of contracts to a larger set of vendors, all pointing towards an increasing popularity of multisourcing.}, subject = {Outsourcing}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{KobusWestnerStrahringer, author = {Kobus, J{\"o}rn and Westner, Markus and Strahringer, Susanne}, title = {Lean Management of IT Organizations}, series = {Proceedings of the 37th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2016), Dublin,}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 37th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2016), Dublin,}, pages = {1 -- 12}, abstract = {Lean Management has been successfully implemented in production organizations since several decades. The study at hand investigates the implementation of Lean Management to IT organizations (Lean IT). The study offers three contributions: First, it explains on a conceptual level how Lean Management can be transferred from production to IT organizations (philosophy, principles, tools). Second, it provides a theoretical perspective on why Lean IT can be beneficial for IT organizations (IT Slack theory). Third, it provides insights to the stated research questions (three benefits and three propositions) from an initial case study of an internal IT service provider for a large international insurance company (> US\$25 Billion revenue; >20,000 employees; active in >120 countries) and lays out the research methodology and potential focus areas for further studies.}, subject = {Lean Management}, language = {en} } @article{StrahringerWestnerBary, author = {Strahringer, Susanne and Westner, Markus and Bary, Benedikt von}, title = {IT-Backsourcing}, series = {Das Wirtschaftsstudium : wisu}, journal = {Das Wirtschaftsstudium : wisu}, number = {6}, publisher = {Lange ; Mohr}, address = {D{\"u}sseldorf ; T{\"u}bingen}, pages = {702 -- 706}, abstract = {The importance of information systems (IS) for companies has grown rapidly over the recent years. For example, companies from various industries are focusing their efforts to digitize business models, to adopt agile forms of collaboration, and to leverage automation of routine tasks. This forces companies to review their IS sourcing strategies and to potentially consider alternatives for current outsourcing contracts. One potential option could be to backsource IS services currently performed by external vendors. Based on empirical observations, previous academics defined it as the repatriation of all assets, activities, and skills needed to perform IS services back in-house, which had been outsourced previously to one or multiple vendors. The distinctive characteristic of backsourcing is the change in ownership back to the mother organization. This distinguishes the term backsourcing from similar terms, e.g., backshoring, reshoring, or relocating, which rather focus on the change in location of the service delivery. At the initial sourcing decision, the strategy to outsource an IS service was considered most promising. However, certain developments both inside the company, but also on a broader industry level may lead to a re-evaluation of the situation and thus to an adjustment of the original sourcing strategy. Over the last years, there has been a strong increase in cloud-based services and a shift towards the deployment of standardized, almost "industrialized" applications as services. Before, large companies leveraged their size in realizing economies of scale within their sourcing volumes. The raise of cloud computing as well as standardization of service delivery decreased those benefits and led towards a decline in large outsourcing contracts across a variety of services and a growth of multi-sourcing of individual IS services from the respective "best-in-breed" vendors for shorter time periods. Besides sourcing the best vendor for each service, companies that implement multi-sourcing strategies additionally aim for cost benefits due to an increased competition between vendors, and an increase in agility and adaptability. At the same time, a move towards multi-sourcing strategies with shorter contract durations leads to an increase in so-called "second generation sourcing decisions", namely whether to continue outsourcing a respective service or to bring the service back in-house. Given the developments within the IS environment, this research projects aims at understanding why IS services are backsourced and which factors influence a company's decision to backsource an IS service.}, subject = {Betriebliches Informationssystem}, language = {de} } @article{StrahringerWestnerKobus, author = {Strahringer, Susanne and Westner, Markus and Kobus, J{\"o}rn}, title = {Lean IT}, series = {WISU - Das Wirtschaftsstudium}, journal = {WISU - Das Wirtschaftsstudium}, number = {1}, pages = {87 -- 92}, subject = {Informationstechnik}, language = {de} } @inproceedings{WestnerStrahringer, author = {Westner, Markus and Strahringer, Susanne}, title = {Current state of IS offshoring research}, series = {M{\"a}ki{\"o}, Juho; Betz, Stefanie; Stephan, Rolf (Eds.): Offshoring of software development. Methods and tools for risk management. Karlsruhe: Universit{\"a}tsverlag Karlsruhe}, booktitle = {M{\"a}ki{\"o}, Juho; Betz, Stefanie; Stephan, Rolf (Eds.): Offshoring of software development. Methods and tools for risk management. Karlsruhe: Universit{\"a}tsverlag Karlsruhe}, pages = {7 -- 22}, abstract = {This paper empirically examines the current state of the IS offshoring phenomenon in Germany regarding project characteristics and success patterns. Relying on a sample of 304 projects conducted at various industry sectors and companies, results show that IS offshoring primarily occurs in sectors Telecommunications and IT at large corporations. Cost reduction is the main reason for going offshore and offshore projects are executed as part of a larger program at companies. Noticeably, most projects are delivered from India. Additionally, neither captive offshoring nor offshore outsourcing dominates as a de-livery option. Comparing different project subgroups regarding project success, the results reveal that projects delivered by an internal or partially owned service provider are more successful. Other project characteristics such as a project's embedded-ness in a larger offshoring program, a project's size, or a project's offshoring degree in terms of relatively offshored labor hours show few significant differences. The paper addresses the paucity of empirical research on the current state of the IS offshoring phenomenon in Germany.}, subject = {Informationsmanagement}, language = {en} } @article{vonBaryWestnerStrahringer, author = {von Bary, Benedikt and Westner, Markus and Strahringer, Susanne}, title = {IT Backsourcing}, series = {International Journal of IT/Business Alignment and Governance}, volume = {10}, journal = {International Journal of IT/Business Alignment and Governance}, number = {2}, publisher = {IGI Global}, doi = {10.4018/IJITBAG.2019070102}, pages = {15}, abstract = {With the growing importance of IT as competitive advantage, companies aim to increase their digital transformation activities. Consequently, companies are also revisiting their existing IT sourcing arrangements. In the article at hand, the authors explore the concept of IT backsourcing by presenting the results from a quantitative online survey with global IT practitioners. The authors confirm that backsourcing is frequently applied in practice, with key reasons being dissatisfaction with service or relationship quality and higher than expected costs. Further, the authors identify IT services with an increased likelihood of being backsourced, e.g., application development or data center, and discuss the effect of a CIO change on the backsourcing decision. In addition, the authors show that there are differences in the perceptions on the antecedents and the results of backsourcing decisions between management and operational level. The authors conclude with practical implications for IT managers based on their findings.}, subject = {Outsourcing}, language = {en} } @article{KopperWestnerStrahringer, author = {Kopper, Andreas and Westner, Markus and Strahringer, Susanne}, title = {From Shadow IT to Business-managed IT: A qualitative comparative analysis to determine configurations for successful management of IT by business entities}, series = {Information Systems and e-Business Management}, volume = {18}, journal = {Information Systems and e-Business Management}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1007/s10257-020-00472-6}, pages = {209 -- 257}, abstract = {Shadow IT describes covert/hidden IT systems that are managed by business entities themselves. Additionally, there are also overt forms in practice, so-called Business-managed IT, which share most of the characteristics of Shadow IT. To better understand this phenomenon, we interviewed 29 executive IT managers about positive and negative cases of Shadow IT and Business-managed IT. By applying qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), we derived four conditions that characterize these cases: Aligned, local, simple, and volatile. The results show that there are three sufficient configurations of conditions that lead to a positive outcome; one of them even encompasses Shadow IT. The most important solution indicates that IT systems managed by business entities are viewed as being positive if they are aligned with the IT department and limited to local requirements. This allows to balance local responsiveness to changing requirements and global standardization. In contrast, IT systems that are not aligned and permanent (and either organization-wide or simple) are consistently considered as negative. Our study is the first empirical quantitative-qualitative study to shed light on the success and failure of Shadow IT and Business-managed IT.}, subject = {Informationsmanagement}, language = {en} } @article{vonBaryWestnerStrahringer, author = {von Bary, Benedikt and Westner, Markus and Strahringer, Susanne}, title = {IT-Backsourcing}, series = {HMD Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik}, volume = {57}, journal = {HMD Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik}, number = {4}, publisher = {Springer}, doi = {10.1365/s40702-020-00591-1}, pages = {849 -- 865}, abstract = {IT-Backsourcing bezeichnet die Re-Integration vormals outgesourcter IT-Services zur{\"u}ck zum auslagernden Unternehmen. Die vorliegende Studie stellt die Ergebnisse einer Umfrage unter IT-Managern zu Einflussfaktoren von IT-Backsourcing-Entscheidungen vor. Es l{\"a}sst sich feststellen, dass IT-Backsourcing von Unternehmen in unterschiedlichen Branchen und f{\"u}r eine Vielzahl an unterschiedlichen IT-Services, wie z. B. Applikationsentwicklung oder Infrastruktur-Leistungen, durchgef{\"u}hrt wird. Hauptgr{\"u}nde f{\"u}r die Entscheidung f{\"u}r ein IT-Backsourcing sind mangelnde Qualit{\"a}t, hohe Kosten sowie eine schlechte Beziehung zum IT-Dienstleister. Die Ergebnisse der Umfrage zeigen, dass diejenigen Unternehmen, die sich f{\"u}r ein Backsourcing entschieden haben, nach der Entscheidung insgesamt zufriedener waren als diejenigen, die in einer Outsourcing-Beziehung geblieben sind. Zudem werden verschiedene Handlungsempfehlungen f{\"u}r IT-Manager aufgezeigt. Zur Ausarbeitung einer zukunftsorientieren IT-Sourcing-Strategie empfiehlt es sich, eine service-spezifische Sourcing-Strategie zu verfolgen und entsprechend spezialisierte Dienstleister einzusetzen. Im Falle einer Entscheidung f{\"u}r ein IT-Backsourcing sollten verschiedene Erfolgsfaktoren beachtetet werden, wie z. B. eine fr{\"u}hzeitige Neubesetzung von Schl{\"u}sselstellen sowie ein l{\"u}ckenloser Wissenstransfer.}, subject = {Betriebliches Informationssystem}, language = {de} } @inproceedings{BrosigWestnerStrahringer, author = {Brosig, Christoph and Westner, Markus and Strahringer, Susanne}, title = {Revisiting the Concept of IT Capabilities in the Era of Digitalization}, series = {2020 IEEE 22nd Conference on Business Informatics (CBI 2020): Antwerp, Belgium, 22-24 June 2020, proceedings}, booktitle = {2020 IEEE 22nd Conference on Business Informatics (CBI 2020): Antwerp, Belgium, 22-24 June 2020, proceedings}, publisher = {IEEE}, doi = {10.1109/CBI49978.2020.00017}, pages = {84 -- 93}, abstract = {In the era of digitalization, companies review how to build competitive advantage drawing on their capabilities. In this context, the paper revisits the concept of IT capabilities. We summarize the "canonical" body of literature to characterize how leading scholars conceptualized and differentiated IT capabilities and then we show how new types of IT capabilities (for example, rising from SMACIT technologies) relate to this. We find that the resource-based view is still leading in how to conceptualize IT capabilities. However, an alternative perspective on IT assets is emerging, looking at it from the angle of digital technologies as stacks. Digital technologies form the foundation for a new technology-driven perspective on IT capabilities. This new view complements the established differentiation of IT capabilities considering IT infrastructure flexibility, IT management, and IT personnel capability. Both perspectives describe the explorative and exploitative nature of IT capabilities. This paper helps scholars and practitioners to clearly distinguish different perspectives of IT capabilities on how to build a competitive advantage from IT today.}, subject = {Informationstechnik}, language = {en} } @article{WulfWestnerStrahringer, author = {Wulf, Frederik and Westner, Markus and Strahringer, Susanne}, title = {Cloud Computing Adoption: A Literature Review on What Is New and What We Still Need to Address}, series = {Communications of the Association for Information Systems}, volume = {48}, journal = {Communications of the Association for Information Systems}, number = {1}, publisher = {Association for Information Systems, AIS}, issn = {1529-3181}, doi = {10.17705/1CAIS.04843}, pages = {523 -- 561}, abstract = {Research on cloud computing (CC) recently emerged congruently with the technology's importance for organizations at a fast pace. This makes it difficult for practitioners to obtain a consolidated overview of what determines CC adoption based on the numerous papers in this regard. Moreover, for further research in the field to add value, it is necessary to identify what still needs to be addressed. In this vein, we conducted a descriptive review of 39 papers, integrating the results of a previous review on 23 papers from 2014, to compare findings across studies. We identify 44 determinant factors that exhibit consistent directional influence on the dependent meta-variable "CC adoption", extending previous literature reviews with regard to asset, client, and environmental characteristics. We then critically reviewed the research landscape to identify what is there, and what is not yet covered: Future research should specifically regard the adoption of Infrastructure-, Platform-, and Everything-as-a-Service, private, hybrid, and multi-cloud deployment, investigate vendor, solution, and individual characteristics, analyzing information systems, or the decision-maker.}, subject = {Cloud Computing}, language = {en} }