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This paper aims to investigate the effects of vendor – client relationship on organizational success in the hospitality industry. The relationship between vendors and clients regarding information technology outsourcing does not always go in harmony. In the viewpoint of hospitality practitioners, information technology (IT) providers do not necessarily abide by the given promises stated on contracts, all the time. The service flows, which are mostly generated by the lack of quality relationship between vendors and clients directly affect hotels’ organizational performance.

Data were collected by an online survey and analyzed using multivariable statistics (path analysis) to determine the effects of service quality and relationship quality on outsourcing success, and its effect on organizational performance. Data from 102 valid responses received from ten different countries, representing 230 hotels in total were analyzed.

Service quality and relationship quality, which are two dimensions of outsourcing relationships, were found to be positively related to outsourcing success (r = 0.60 and 0.70, p < 0.01, respectively) and intangible organizational performance (r = 0.20, p < 0.05; 0.26 and 0.27, p < 0.01, respectively).

The research was designed to investigate the IT outsourcing service receiver’s (client) perspective. The IT service provider’s (vendor) perspective is disregarded. Disturbance results are very high (i.e. more than 0.95). This may well be the case that certain facets of the outsourcing success construct are not adequately represented by the chosen indicators. Research results may reveal an idea about the research subject, in general, but may not be generalized to the whole industry due to its sampling size. Finally, the survey was conducted online, and all online research restrictions were applicable to this research such as receiving very limited response rates.

The results of this research provide important information for practitioners in the hospitality industry and IT service providers. Relationship quality between vendor and client was observed to be the most determinant factor in IT outsourcing success.

The proposed model may well serve as a framework for further examining mediating and possible moderating variables.

There is limited research in the previous literature investigating the relationship between information technology vendor and client, in terms of service quality and relationship quality in hospitality industry. This paper may serve to fill in this gap.

The information technology (IT) industry has been continuously expanding. This has resulted in promoting outsourcing of work by clients to vendors. Most of the published research has focussed on when clients should start outsourcing, what to outsource, criteria for vendor selection, etc., however the vendor side of the relationship has been mostly ignored. The purpose of this paper is to delve deep into the vendors’ side and what aspects a vendor needs to consider in order to maintain a good relationship with the clients.

The research design of the paper is to use literature survey to define the components of the client vendor relationship (CVR), identify the parameters impacting the relationship, establish correlation between the independent variables and the dependent variable; subsequently to propose a framework for the CVR.

The findings have been that – communication, technical value addition, knowledge sharing and client vendor adaptability are vital to any outsourcing engagement and if the vendor is able to get good knowledge transfer of the application at hand and the business domain, it can perform better. Vendors, which proactively resolve issues, ensure stable deliveries before time and identify improvements in the software outside the work assigned maintain better relationship. Further a vendor must be adaptable to clients, cultural, time zone differences, should provide a good project manager and be ready to change tools, resources as per client needs. As long as the vendor is able to ensure the above, the stability of the client country and need for information security is not as important to vendors.

The study has limitations as it focusses on the vendors’ side and is inclined toward Indian vendors’ perspectives. Future research can include client as well and can be conducted for a different geography.

The research work is original and adds value to the IT service outsourcing industry by identifying the parameters which need to be monitored for a sustainable CVR.

Despite existing advances in information technology infrastructure services (ITISs), there remains no consensus in the literature regarding what dimensions or criteria are best suited for the measurement of their quality. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap, proposing a methodological approach to measuring the quality of ITISs, as perceived by users.

Cronbach’s α and item-total correlations were used to measure the reliability of the questionnaire; multiple linear regression analysis was employed to determine the items (criteria) most related to the quality of ITISs; and finally, importance–performance analysis was conducted to determine the most critical criteria in service provision. An exploratory study was conducted to evaluate the quality of ITISs at a Brazilian university.

Control of the activities of the information technology (IT) team, periodic maintenance of hardware and software, the security policy and the skill of the labor affect the quality of services most, relative to the dimensions of infrastructure, people and processes.

The results indicate what dimensions and items should be considered by IT managers to improve the quality of ITISs. Special attention should be paid to the effective use of equipment, software and network infrastructure: it should be ensured that these are in good working order and can be utilized by users who expect to be trained to take advantage of their functions.

This paper shows how to integrate relevant techniques to assess the quality of ITISs. An original set of criteria to evaluate the quality of ITISs, derived from a systematic review of the literature, is suggested.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and to empirically test a model that explains how managing differences between an information technology (IT) provider and an overseas client influences partnership quality and ultimately affects the continuity of the relationship.

A field survey by distributing questionnaires to Indonesian IT providers was conducted over four months, yielding 78 completed responses. These empirical data were analyzed by the partial least squares–structural equation modeling technique to examine the measurement and structural models.

Managing differences, i.e. cultural, temporal and standards differences, has a positive impact on partnership quality through inter-firm interaction, i.e. information exchange, coordination and participation. Partnership quality, consisting of the dimensions of commitment, trust and integration, has a substantial positive impact on the continuity of the relationship.

This study was limited by the use of a limited number of samples, reducing the precision of the results.

This study suggests that if the IT provider is able to manage the cultural, temporal and standards differences with the overseas client, it increases information exchange, coordination and participation between both parties, which are necessary for establishing a high-quality partnership.

This study is the first empirical examination of how the management of differences between an IT provider and an overseas client influences the continuity of their relationship through interaction and partnership quality.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of PRINCE2 (PRoject IN Controlled Environments 2) standard on customer satisfaction jointly with vendor relationship management capability in the information technology outsourcing (ITO) context. This paper further tries to explore the above underlying mechanism by studying the mediating effect of deliverable quality.

This paper develops a mediated moderation model to explain the underlying influence processes of PRINCE2 standard, vendor relationship management capability and deliverable quality on ITO customer satisfaction. By conducting a pair-wise survey of 260 project managers in seven Iranian firms, the model and hypotheses are empirically tested with the partial least squares method.

Our results suggest that firms benefit more in terms of IT costs reduction when they have a higher level of complementary investment in an external standard, especially through an interplay effect of the external standard and internal relational aspect. Firms can make business processes more amenable to outsourcing and facilitate monitoring of vendor performance and effective coordination with vendors. More interestingly, we find that this interactive effect is fully mediated by deliverable quality, which, in turn, directly increases ITO customer satisfaction.

This study adds some new knowledge and provides new views to study ITO customer satisfaction by addressing the importance of PRINCE2 standard. This study further enhances our understanding in terms of the underlying pathway through which the PRINCE2 standard jointly affects customer satisfaction with vendor relationship management capability and deliverable quality. With the effort of explicitly explaining the complex mechanisms, this study helps ITO managers proactively escort outsourcing activities and projects.

This work analyses make or buy decisions from the transaction cost economics perspective and the resource‐based view of the firm. The aim is to analyse the extent to which the presumptions of the two theories are valid in the service sector in terms of specific assets.

The study was conducted on a representative sample of hotels in Scotland, UK. Each of the surveyed hotels was asked for information about 13 operations or hotel processes. A comprehensive model is developed that establishes the relationship between asset specificity and operation performance and hotel or business performance, moderated by the form of governance (make or buy). Moreover, the relationship between asset specificity and outsourcing in the hotel sector is also examined. The different hotel processes are classified according to the asset specificity. The factors that could lead to an increase in the outsourcing strategy are also analysed.

The results indicate that, the relationship between asset specificity and operation performance is weaker when the operations are executed in‐house. In the case of the relationship between specific assets and performance, the findings regarding non‐financial performance are not contradictory since it is slightly higher when the operation is outsourced. The factors determining an increase in outsourcing would be those related to the quality of the operation and to non‐financial performance.

Previous studies have not considered the relationship between specificity and business performance, which gives extra incentive to complement and expand the literature on service operations. Future research should analyze other theories on organisations and outsourcing. The findings should also be tested in other geographical regions and use sources of information other than the hotel managers.

The work generates knowledge and aids managers in their “make or buy” decisions for the principal processes in the hotel industry according to the asset specificity.

The paper develops a specificity‐outsourcing matrix and identifies each of the hotel operations. Apart from testing the model in the hotel sector, which is an important sector of the service industry, the work offers a better understanding of outsourcing decisions based on the two basic theories used in the literature on services management. The paper also makes an innovative contribution by analysing relationships between operation specificity and performance that are previously untested in the service sector.

The purpose of this article is to propose a theoretical model explaining information technology outsourcing performance in the public sector as well as a set of empirically testable propositions to improve the understanding of key determinants of success.

Based on Fountain ' s technology enactment framework, the authors integrated inter-organizational factors, such as trust, knowledge sharing, and quality of outsourcing interfaces, in the model and added organizational culture alignment between service providers and public administration to enhance Fountain ' s original framework.

The authors proposed 17 empirically testable propositions to establish the relationships between key variables in IT outsourcing projects in the public sector.

The proposed model provides guidance for future research aimed at advancing knowledge of IT outsourcing.

The contribution lies in the development of specific variables, such as trust, knowledge, and organizational culture, which are related to building an outsourcing relationship and are used as determinants of the quality of organizational interfaces between public bureaucracies and IT outsourcing providers.

Outsourcing has become part of organizational strategy for achieving efficiency and effectiveness. This study aims to examine outsourcing and public universities’ performance in Nigeria, the mediating effect of trust.

The study used 353 respondents as sample size drawn from 12 public universities across the six geo-political zones of the country. The study used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using ADANCO 2.0.1.

The study found significant relationships between outsourcing and quality of teaching and research (core activities) and outsourcing and the quality of other activities (non-core). Also, the study found a significant relationship between outsourcing and low-cost. While the study supports the position of transaction cost economics and relational theories, in contrast, it has not supported the core competence theory. Generally, the study found that outsourcing significantly affects public universities’ performance in Nigeria, and trust partially mediates the relationship.

The study, such as any other research, has limitations. The study is only limited to public universities and the research has not included students in its survey.

Managers of public universities are always looking for ways to reduce costs and enhance the quality of their activities. This study has demonstrated the relevance of outsourcing activities in Nigerian Public Universities. Therefore, managers should focus on outsourcing in areas that have not been outsourced but have the potentials of efficiency and effectiveness if outsourced. Furthermore, the study broadens the understanding of promoting an environment of trust in outsourcing; therefore, managers should encourage trust with their vendors to achieve the desired outcomes of outsourcing.

This study examines the mediating effect of trust on the relationship between outsourcing and public universities’ performance in Nigeria empirically, drawing on the core and non-core activities of the universities. The study has contributed to the discourse on outsourcing and public universities’ performance in Nigeria. The study also unveiled the contribution of outsourcing activities in public universities in Nigeria, and how trust as a uni-dimensional construct mediates in achieving outsourcing that contributes to the public university system. Finally, the study also contributed to the understanding that universities can outsource some of their core competences and achieve performance.

The purpose of this study is to examine the levels of the main hotel outsourcing activities to identify the factors that determine the use of external suppliers for these activities.

A model was developed that analyzes the relationship between competitive advantage and outsourcing and how the relationship between competitive advantage and activity performance is affected by whether an activity is outsourced or not. Moreover, the study builds a matrix called “outsourcing and competitive advantage” where each of the activities can be placed. The study was carried out with a representative sample of hotels in a tourist destination, analyzing 12 activities from different departments in the hotels.

The study results indicate that there is a positive relationship between the competitive advantage of an activity and its outcome. In addition, the findings show that the relationship between competitive advantage and activity performance is stronger when the activity is developed internally than when it is outsourced. The study supports a negative relationship between the degree of outsourcing an activity and its competitive advantage. In addition, the findings showed that a change in the way of managing the outsourcing is determined by its performance.

This study aims to help managers make decisions about outsourcing by considering the perspective of the competitive advantage. Each hotel can situate the activities in the matrix created and compare itself to the sector mean for a strategic positioning of the outsourcing.

Most studies analyze asset specificity as a key variable; however, the competitive advantage has not been used in previous studies, in spite of being a better defined variable in the literature. This study classifies the activities into core and non-core and establishes their relationship with outsourcing. It also studies how the way of managing an activity (outsourcing or in-house) moderates the relationship between competitive advantage and performance. These aspects have not been analyzed in the literature..

The purpose of this study is to find out the tendency to outsource hotel operations, explain the reasons, both strategic, related mainly to quality, improvement of service, concentration on core operations, and tactical or cost reasons. The relationship between the tendency to outsource and performance is also analyzed with regard to quality and cost of hotel services. In addition, the relationship between the size of the hotel and the tendency to outsource is analyzed. The tendency to outsource is defined as the predisposition of the company to leave certain hotel functions or services in the hands of third parties, keeping in mind both degree of present and desired outsourcing by the hotel under the hypotheses that there are suppliers who offer better quality than could be obtained by the hotel if it kept it in‐house. The results of the study make it possible to establish significant differences between present and desired outsourcing indicating that an increase in outsourcing is decided by the possibility that this strategy can improve quality and service and increase flexibility in operations, and not because of a cost reduction as traditionally believed. This study also establishes three groups of hotel activities according to the tendency to outsource (i.e., low, medium and high tendency). It is also observed that the larger the size of the hotel, the more present outsourcing there is. Finally, current demands of businesses with regard to suppliers able to satisfy their needs and the limits that impede a larger number of activities from having been outsourced up to now have been found. Finally, a series of practical and academic conclusions and implications are presented.