Myths and paradoxes in Japanese IT offshoring

october 2008 | vol. 51 | no. 10 | communications of the acm 141 are driven by knowledge rather than cost or value drivers, their use of circles of trust with a high entry threshold, unusual but surprisingly effective governance strategies, and how they have mastered the sophisticated art of modularization. These paradoxical practices offer invaluable lessons for both Western companies that outsource IT as well as for offshore vendors attempting to gain a foothold in the burgeoning Japanese market.