Project Control in IT Offshore Outsourcing Projects: From Behaviour Control to Output Control to Good Client-Vendor Relationship

This paper presents a process model of how an IT offshore outsourcing project in a German-Indian context evolved over time. It applies project control theory as the theoretical basis for analysis. The findings from the underlying case study contribute to the domain knowledge of IT project management and IT offshoring by providing insights into the effects of different types of control modes on project outcomes in distinct phases of a successful, long-lasting software reengineering project. The amount and type of control depends on the criticality of the product, as well as the level of mutual trust.

[1]  Geoff Walsham,et al.  GIS for District-Level Administration in India: Problems and Opportunities , 1999, MIS Q..

[2]  Paul Legris,et al.  A Roadmap for it Project Implementation: Integrating Stakeholders and Change Management Issues , 2006 .

[3]  L. Kirsch.  The Management of Complex Tasks in Organizations: Controlling the Systems Development Process , 1996 .

[4]  A. V. D. Ven,et al.  Engaged Scholarship: A Guide for Organizational and Social Research , 2007 .

[5]  R. Stebbins.  Exploratory research in the social sciences , 2001 .

[6]  W. R. King,et al.  Information systems offshoring: research status and issues , 2008 .

[7]  A. Strauss,et al.  Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. , 1993 .

[8]  Kathleen M. Eisenhardt,et al.  Control: Organizational and Economic Approaches , 1985 .

[9]  R. Yin.  Case Study Research: Design and Methods , 1984 .

[10]  Wanda J. Orlikowski,et al.  Studying Information Technology in Organizations: Research Approaches and Assumptions , 1991, Inf. Syst. Res..

[11]  H. P. Sims,et al.  Self-Management as a Substitute for Leadership: A Social Learning Theory Perspective , 1980 .

[12]  Blake Ives,et al.  Virtual teams: a review of current literature and directions for future research , 2004, DATB.

[13]  Geoff Walsham,et al.  Doing interpretive research , 2006, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[14]  Kishore Sengupta,et al.  The Impact of Goals On Software Project Management: An Experimental Investigation , 1999, MIS Q..

[15]  E. A. Locke,et al.  A theory of goal setting & task performance , 1990 .

[16]  Geoff Walsham,et al.  Interpretive case studies in IS research: nature and method , 1995 .

[17]  Laurie J. Kirsch,et al.  Portfolios of Control Modes and IS Project Management , 1997, Inf. Syst. Res..

[18]  Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa,et al.  Is Anybody Out There? Antecedents of Trust in Global Virtual Teams , 1998, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[19]  William H. DeLone,et al.  Global boundaries, task processes and IS project success: a field study , 2006, Inf. Technol. People.

[20]  Lawrence B. Mohr,et al.  Explaining organizational behavior , 1982 .

[21]  Rajiv Sabherwal,et al.  Portfolios of Control in Outsourced Software Development Projects , 2003, Inf. Syst. Res..

[22]  William R. King,et al.  Predictors of Formal Control Usage in IT Outsourcing Partnerships , 2008, Inf. Syst. Res..

[23]  Laurie J. Kirsch,et al.  Deploying Common Systems Globally: The Dynamics of Control , 2004, Inf. Syst. Res..

[24]  R. Merton.  Social Theory and Social Structure , 1958 .

[25]  Weidong Xia,et al.  Grasping the complexity of IS development projects , 2004, CACM.

[26]  William G. Ouchi,et al.  Markets, Bureaucracies, and Clans. , 1980 .

[27]  R. Ryan Nelson,et al.  IT Project Management: Infamous Failures, Classic Mistakes, and Best Practices , 2007, MIS Q. Executive.

[28]  J. C. Henderson,et al.  Managing I/S Design Teams: A Control Theories Perspective , 1992 .

[29]  M. Rao.  Key Issues for Global it Sourcing: Country and Individual Factors , 2004 .

[30]  B. Nicholson,et al.  Global IT Outsourcing: Software Development across Borders , 2003 .

[31]  Harbhajan Kehal,et al.  Outsourcing and Offshoring in the 21st Century: A Socio-Economic Perspective , 2006 .

[32]  V. G. Ouchi,et al.  A conceptual framework for the design and organizational control mechanisms , 1979 .

[33]  Geoff Walsham,et al.  Interpreting Information Systems in Organizations , 1993 .

[34]  James D. Herbsleb,et al.  Familiarity, Complexity, and Team Performance in Geographically Distributed Software Development , 2007, Organ. Sci..

[35]  K. Eisenhardt,et al.  Politics of Strategic Decision Making in High-Velocity Environments: Toward a Midrange Theory , 1988 .

[36]  G. Walsham,et al.  Making contributions in interpretive case studies in IS research , 2004 .

[37]  L. Willcocks,et al.  Global Sourcing of Business and IT Services , 2006 .