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Trust, as one of the core components of a relationship, has attracted research attention from many disciplines. From the perspective of IT outsourcing, this paper aims to divide trust into two levels, interpersonal trust and interorganizational trust, and explore the effects of these two levels of trust on knowledge sharing and IT outsourcing success.

Based on social exchange theory and the theory of organization boundary systems, a theoretical model was developed and tested empirically with the responses to a cross‐sectional survey. Data were collected from key informants of 143 firms that had outsourced at least part of their IT functions.

The data analysis results showed that interpersonal trust plays a more dominant role than does interorganizational trust in making IT outsourcing successful and the extent of knowledge sharing has a significant mediating effect between interpersonal trust and IT outsourcing success.

From the managerial perspective, findings from this study once again emphasize the importance of relationship management (trust and knowledge sharing) on overall IT outsourcing success. Paying attention to interpersonal trust is an effective way for an organization to build and maintain a successful IT outsourcing relationship with its service provider.

Effective management of IT outsourcing continues to be a challenge to organizations today. Organizations in China suffer from even bigger problems than other regions of the world. The IT outsourcing market is in its infancy and the outsourcing practice is still at its initial stage. Regarding to the outsourcing management issues, the literature has explored the role of either the relationship or contract in governing IT outsourcing success. However, few efforts have been paid to investigate the effects of both relationship and contract on IT outsourcing success from a holistic view. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This study develops a conceptual model and empirically tests it through a cross-sectional survey conducted in five big cities of Mainland China.

The data analysis results identified the dimensionalities of relationship, contract and IT outsourcing success and proved the causal relationships between these three constructs.

This research re-emphasizes the importance of relationship in IT outsourcing success and the fundamental role of contract in developing a sound relationship. It also gives some implications on how to evaluate IT outsourcing success in China, an emerging market for IT outsourcing.

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 authors’ contribution to the literature involves using expectation disconfirmation theory (EDT) to examine the impact of expectations on outsourcing success. This study hypothesizes that perceptions of outsourcing success are contingent on disconfirmation between clients’ expectations and the perceived performance of fundamental issues related to the outsourcing relationship.

To test the hypothesis, this study surveyed chief information officers, vice presidents and senior information systems managers to determine their perceptions of vendors. This study analyzed the data using structural equation modeling.

The findings demonstrate that the existing outsourcing success factors are more precisely depicted as multidimensional success factors that predict managerial perceptions of outsourcing success. This study uses a novel perspective to identify the multidimensional nature of the outsourcing success factors that might have remained latent without further analysis.

Using EDT, this study extends the understanding of outsourcing success as not merely composed of unidimensional factors but as a collection of multidimensional outsourcing success factors. This research demonstrates that not only do these success factors predict outsourcing success, but they can also be grouped together to provide a diversified, yet parsimonious view of how expectations relating to certain success factors influence a client’s perception of outsourcing success.

This paper aims to explain how small- and medium-sized firms (SMEs) create information technology (IT) business value through blended IT outsourcing (ITO). The explanatory framework it proposes enables SMEs to replicate IT capability outcomes (i.e. enhance their economic, strategic and technological competences, namely, ITO success) by endorsing an ITO strategy catalyzed by IT vendor integration.

This study uses covariance-based structural equation modeling to test the proposed research model. Data are collected from 251 knowledge-intensive business SMEs located in Science and Technology Parks in Spain.

The results demonstrate empirically that SMEs can replicate IT capability benefits (i.e. enhance their non-IT competences) through blended ITO in which IT, conceptualized as a transversal supporting activity, is outsourced to an IT vendor while the value creation process remains with the buyer. The integration (i.e. process integration and information sharing) of an IT-proficient vendor catalyzes ITO success. More specifically, the results show that, although process integration is not directly related to competence enhancement, fosters information sharing, which directly facilitates ITO success. The results also show that IT vendor proficiency accounts for ex ante trust.

Managers should think of transformational ITO as a strategy to enhance firm competences. For blended ITO strategies to succeed, managers must have a comprehensive understanding of the business they run, as it is important to create conditions that foster inter-firm information sharing. To achieve these conditions, managers should take special care in selecting boundary spanners, who are the pivotal links in competence enhancement.

While most research focuses on ongoing trust (i.e. trust develops as ITO evolves), this study focuses on initial (i.e. ex ante) trust and analyzes IT vendor proficiency (expert, experienced and reputed) to examine trust as an antecedent of ITO. This study also draws on previous conceptualizations of vendor integration to develop and analyze a two-step integration model to explain how IT vendor integration (i.e. process integration and information sharing) catalyzes enhancement of the buyer’s non-IT competences. This study focuses on SMEs, which are often neglected in ITO studies.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse Information Systems outsourcing success, measuring the latter according to the satisfaction level achieved by users and taking into account three success factors: the role played by the client firm’s top management; the relationships between client and provider; and the degree of outsourcing.

A survey was carried out by means of a questionnaire answered by 398 large Spanish firms. Its results were examined using the partial least squares software and through the proposal of a structural equation model.

The conclusions reveal that the perceived benefits play a mediating role in outsourcing satisfaction and also that these benefits can be grouped together into three categories: strategic; economic; and technological ones.

The study identifies how some success factors will be more influent than others depending which type of benefits are ultimately sought with outsourcing.

This paper aims to examine critical factors of successful logistics outsourcing relationship from the perspectives of both LSPs and shippers employing case studies in Singapore and Vietnam as examples of well-established and growing logistics outsourcing markets.

The case study design is adopted to empirically examine logistics outsourcing practices. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with senior managers from four cases in Singapore and seven cases in Vietnam. These case organisations are engaged comprehensively in logistics outsourcing activities and encompass both international firms that have their local operations and those local firms whose operations expand internationally.

Results suggest that the success of logistics outsourcing may depend on five strategic factors and five operational factors, with some of them being the same between LSPs and shippers in both countries and in line with the literature. There also seemed to be a difference between logistics outsourcing practitioners in a developed country (Singapore), and those in a developing country (Vietnam), in which factors, i.e. having the right people and management support, business processes integration and cultural intelligence, tend to be emphasised and practised more in the former. A strategy matrix of logistics outsourcing was mapped accordingly.

The generalisation of this study would require further empirical examination from more quantitative research, for example, the use of surveys with shippers who engage with LSPs.

Findings from this research can assist managers in charge of outsourcing to reflect on their practices and devise and implement appropriate strategies for successful logistics outsourcing. Especially for growing logistics outsourcing markets and not-yet-standardised practices like Vietnam, the findings of this research are significant as they provide policy and managerial insights into how logistics outsourcing can be performed successfully. Specifically, adequate guidelines and resources including training relating to strategic factors of logistics outsourcing must be provided.

This research is one of the first studies that categorise success factors of logistics outsourcing into strategic and operational factors and postulates their conceptualisation in a strategy matrix that can be applied in future research.

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.

This research paper aims to identify and rank critical issues in IT outsourcing relationships.

A total of 11 management theories were applied in this research: theory of core competencies, resource‐based theory, neo‐classical economic theory, transaction cost theory, contractual theory, agency theory, partnership and alliance theory, relational exchange theory, stakeholder theory, social exchange theory and theory of firm boundaries. The main method used is case studies and survey. Case studies were conducted in three IT outsourcing relationships: ABB‐IBM, SAS‐CSC, and RR‐EDS.

Core competence management and stakeholder management were found to be the most critical success factors. Future research should focus on one or two theories, explicitly laying out expectations with respect to the theories, and organizing rich data to test expectations.

This paper demonstrates that a holistic approach to IT outsourcing is needed that recognizes and emphasizes the combination of several critical success factors. The theory‐based factors have both divergent and convergent implications for management.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the views of top corporate financial executives on the success of implementation of systems outsourcing and offshore outsourcing, as well as the variables associated with success in these areas.

An analysis of secondary data obtained from the Financial Executives International comprehensive survey‐based research on technology issues for financial executives. Regression analysis and other statistical methods are used.

The study examined usage of outsourcing and offshore outsourcing from the top financial executive's perspective. Only 30 percent of the surveyed companies outsourced IT and only 25 percent engaged in offshore outsourcing IT. Size of the company did significantly influence usage. The major motivators behind the decision to pursue outsourcing were the views that IT is not a core competency and that significant cost reduction was possible. The experiences of the organizations surveyed reflect a general satisfaction with outsourcing and offshore outsourcing. But finally, it was found that while overall use of outsourcing did correlate with higher IT returns, offshore outsourcing did not correlate with higher IT return to the organization at traditional significance levels.

The study can be used as a basis for further exploration on outsourcing and offshore outsourcing success, influencing variables, and motivators.

The findings can be used to guide management teams in outsourcing and offshore outsourcing decisions to maximize returns to their organizations.

Despite many studies that examine success from the theoretical and IT perspectives, this paper provides a large sample set, which empirically reviews major corporations' top financial executives' experiences with outsourcing and offshore outsourcing. In addition, it begins to explore the variables influencing overall outsourcing and offshore outsourcing success perception. Major contributions are the extent of the detail, the large dataset analysis, and the CFO rather than CIO perspective.