International outsourcing of information technology services: review and future directions

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review the development of the empirical literature onrninternational outsourcing of information technology services (ITS) over the 1992-2007 period and tornidentify future research areas.rnDesign/methodology/approach - A sample of 78 empirical academic publications on internationalrnoutsourcing of ITS conducted between 1992 and 2007 across 46 scholarly journals constitutes the mainrndata for analytical purposes. The sample is compiled following extensive electronic searches of thernmain academic databases. After clustering the studies in the sample according to their main researchrnareas, a narrative approach is used to review developments in each cluster and to identify emergingrnresearch areas.rnFindings Four main areas of research are identified, namely outsourcing decision, outsourcingrnmanagement (OSM), outsourcing outcome and the role of offshore service providers (OSPs). Thernreview suggests that research efforts to date have been predominantly on outsourcing decision andrnOSM, mostly from the perspective of clients. Future research opportunities exist in the areas ofrnoutsourcing strategy and performance, the behaviour and performance of OSPs particularly within therncontext of firms from less-developed countries competing globally, and the nature of competitionrnamong OSPs both within and among countries.rnOriginality/value - This is the first review which focuses on empirical studies of outsourcing forrnITS. This paper identifies several gaps in the literature and points to the need for more research onrnoutsourcing from the perspective of OSPs.