Understanding it Outsourcing and its Potential Effects on it Workers and Their Environment

Gartner has estimated that one of every twenty U.S. technology jobs will be moved offshore by the year 2005 (16). To date, outsourcing has led to the increased application of collaborative technologies as well as a rise in virtual team development. This growth leads to changes and challenges related to the nature of IT work. In an effort to begin understanding these challenges, this paper examines information technology outsourcing from the perspective of its potential effects on IT workers and their environment. As a foundation to this examination, the different definitions of IT outsourcing are presented along with the motivations behind organizational decisions to outsource. An organizing framework is presented that considers the effects of outsourcing on the individual and environment with attention given to the type of outsourcing arrangement and the location of the outsourcing vendor. Implications for practice along with recommendations for future research are discussed.

[1]  E. A. Locke.  The nature and causes of job satisfaction , 1976 .

[2]  Jason Bennett Thatcher,et al.  Turnover of Information Technology Workers: Examining Empirically the Influence of Attitudes, Job Characteristics, and External Markets , 2002, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[3]  Leslie P. Willcocks,et al.  An Empirical Investigation of Information Technology Sourcing Practices: Lessons From Experience , 1998, MIS Q..

[4]  N. Venkatraman,et al.  Determinants of Information Technology Outsourcing: A Cross-Sectional Analysis , 2011, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[5]  Thomas R. Stewart,et al.  Organizational Downsizing: A Review of Literature for Planning and Research , 2003, Journal of healthcare management / American College of Healthcare Executives.

[6]  D. Ones,et al.  Occupational Stress : Toward a More Integrated Framework . , 2022 .

[7]  Chetan S. Sankar,et al.  Information Technology Outsourcing and Virtual Team , 2005, J. Comput. Inf. Syst..

[8]  C. Gibson,et al.  Virtual teams that work : creating conditions for virtual team effectiveness , 2003 .

[9]  Richard C. Reizenstein,et al.  Survivor reactions to organizational downsizing: Does time ease the pain? , 2001 .

[10]  Denise M. Rousseau,et al.  Psychological contracts in employment , 2001 .

[11]  Richard M. Burton,et al.  Virtual Teams: What are their Characteristics, and Impact on Team Performance? , 2000, Comput. Math. Organ. Theory.

[12]  J. Alberto Espinosa,et al.  Team Boundary Issues Across Multiple Global Firms , 2003, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[13]  Jérôme Barthélemy,et al.  The Determinants of Total it Outsourcing: An Empirical Investigation of French and German Firms , 2004, J. Comput. Inf. Syst..

[14]  H. Raghav Rao,et al.  A two-level investigation of information systems outsourcing , 1996, CACM.

[15]  Denise M. Rousseau,et al.  CHANGING OBLIGATIONS AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY , 1994 .

[16]  Ephraim R. McLean,et al.  Managing high achieving information systems professionals , 1992, SIGCPR '92.

[17]  Christina Costa,et al.  Information Management & Computer Security Information technology outsourcing in Australia : a literature review , 2016 .

[18]  B. Kleiner,et al.  The effect of downsizing on morale and attrition , 2003 .

[19]  Terry R. Adler,et al.  Member Trust in Teams: A Synthesized Analysis of Contract Negotiation in Outsourcing it Work , 2004, J. Comput. Inf. Syst..

[20]  Stanley D. Nollen,et al.  Career Experiences, Perceptions of Employment Practices, and Psychological Commitment to the Organization , 1989 .

[21]  T. M. Rajkumar,et al.  The Application Development Outsourcing Decision: An Application of the Technology Acceptance Model , 2002, J. Comput. Inf. Syst..

[22]  R. Hirschheim,et al.  Beyond The Information Systems Outsourcing Bandwagon: The Insourcing Response , 1995 .

[23]  C. Lonsdale,et al.  The historical development of outsourcing: the latest fad? , 2000, Ind. Manag. Data Syst..

[24]  M. D. Dunnette.  Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology , 2005 .

[25]  R. Hirschheim,et al.  Information systems outsourcing : myths, metaphors, and realities , 1993 .

[26]  J. Daniel Couger,et al.  Motivators vs. demotivators in the IS environment , 1988 .

[27]  Chris J. Sablynski,et al.  WHY PEOPLE STAY: USING JOB EMBEDDEDNESS TO PREDICT VOLUNTARY TURNOVER , 2001 .

[28]  L. Willcocks,et al.  The Value of Selective IT Sourcing , 1996 .

[29]  Young-Soo Chung,et al.  Critical Success Factors for is Outsourcing Implementation from an Interorganizational Relationship Perspective , 2003, J. Comput. Inf. Syst..

[30]  David Chan,et al.  Justice in Organizations: Theory, Methods, and Applications , 2001 .