Vendor capabilities and outsourcing success: A resource-based view

Outsourcing is a generally accepted method for fulfilling an organization’s information systems (IS) needs. A prominent motive for outsourcing is a desire to increase the organization’s access to high-quality information technology and expertise. There is, however, little research that examines the connection between vendor capabilities and customer satisfaction. This paper addresses that gap by using the resource-based view of the firm to investigate linkages between vendor capabilities, IS quality, and customer satisfaction.A survey was completed by managers of outsourcing customer firms. The results were analyzed using Partial Least Squares (PLS). The results indicate that customers evaluate a vendor primarily in terms of technological capabilities, followed by relationship management capabilities. The vendor’s understanding of the customer’s business was not considered to be significant. There is a significant connection between the vendor’s capabilities and the quality of the IS function, which in turn was related to customer satisfaction.