The search result changed since you submitted your search request. Documents might be displayed in a different sort order.
  • search hit 134 of 178
Back to Result List

Unraveling the impact of cultural distance on IT outsourcing success

  • PURPOSE IT outsourcing (ITO) has developed into an established practice for organizations but the interorganizational and oftentimes international collaboration it involves comes at a price: Reports from academia and practice suggest that more than 25% of all ITO projects fail, many because of cultural differences between client and provider organizations. Against this background, this paper analyzes the complex nature of cultural distance and its multi-faceted effect on ITO success. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH This paper builds upon extant literature on culture on the national, organizational and team level, conceptualizes its effect on relationship quality and ITO success, and hypothesizes a model on potential moderators and management techniques to offset culture-induced challenges. It then evaluates and refines the model by means of an interpretive qualitative research design for an in-depth single-case study of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (P7S1), a leading European media company that reconfigured its IT sourcing model three times in 10 years. FINDINGS The results from interviews with top managers from client and provider organizations represent one of the first integrated views on the critical importance of cultural compatibility on multiple levels, provide manifold examples for its complex effect on ITO success, as well as moderators and potential management techniques to promote ITO success. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS This paper contributes relevant empirical insights to the growing body of literature on culture and its underestimated role in ITO success. It builds on tentative theory that is confirmed and refined. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS The paper helps in substantiating the complex and intangible nature of culture and demonstrates means for its effective management. ORIGINALITY/VALUE The results from interviews with top managers from client and provider organizations represent one of the first integrated views on the critical importance of cultural compatibility on multiple levels, provide manifold examples for its complex effect on ITO success, as well as moderators and potential management techniques to promote ITO success.

Download full text files

Export metadata

Additional Services

Share in Twitter Search Google Scholar Statistics
Metadaten
Author:Michael Könning, Susanne Strahringer, Markus WestnerORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-8708
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-06-2019-0151
Parent Title (English):Journal of Enterprise Information Management
Subtitle (English):Insights from three major sourcing reconfigurations
Publisher:Emerald
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2020
Publishing Institution:Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg
Release Date:2021/01/28
Tag:Cultural distance; IT outsourcing; ITO Success; National culture; Offshoring; Organizational culture; Relationship quality
Volume:34
Issue:3
First Page:811
Last Page:837
Institutes:Fakultät Informatik und Mathematik
Fakultät Informatik und Mathematik / Regensburg Strategic IT Management (ReSITM)
Begutachtungsstatus:peer-reviewed
research focus:Digitalisierung
Licence (German):Keine Lizenz - Es gilt das deutsche Urheberrecht: § 53 UrhG