Succeeding in Application Services Outsourcing Strategies - a Contingency Perspective

Prior research has revealed that succeeding in application services outsourcing (ASO) is more complex than the outsourcing of other information technology (IT) functions. This complexity results from the closeness to business processes and lower degree in the standardisation of ASO. The present research endeavour explored the relationship between specific strategy configurations, the so-called ‘gestalts', and the success in ASO. By deriving a contingency model, we identified the internal factors which moderate the relationship between a particular outsourcing gestalt and its success. We conducted comparative case study research with 20 large German and Swiss enterprises. Basing on the notion of literal and theoretical replication, we identified the salient contingency factors and the forces amongst them. We were able to show that the success of the different gestalts is moderated by distinct sets of contingencies, considering the organisational structure, application portfolio structure and the information systems (IS) capabilities implemented. The results contribute to a more differentiated understanding of outsourcing contingencies and support an anticipatory assessment of outsourcing configurations in ASO.

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