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Adopting Quality Assurance Technology in Customer–Vendor Relationships: A Case Study of How Interorganizational Relationships Influence the Process

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Information Systems Development

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Abstract

Quality assurance technology is a formal control mechanism aiming at increasing the quality of the product exchanged between vendors and customers. Studies of the adoption of this technology in the field of system development rarely focus on the role of the relationship between the customer and vendor in the process. We have studied how the process of adopting quality assurance technology by a small Danish IT vendor developing pharmacy software for a customer in the public sector was influenced by the relationship with the customer. The case study showed that the adoption process was shaped to a high degree by the relationship and vice versa. The prior high level of trust and mutual knowledge helped the parties negotiate mutually feasible solutions throughout the adoption process. We thus advise enhancing trust-building processes to strengthen the relationships and to balance formal control and social control to increase the likelihood of a successful outcome of the adoption of quality assurance technology in a customer–vendor relationship.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aalborg University, Aalborg, Danmark

    Lise Tordrup Heeager & Gitte Tjørnehøj

Authors
  1. Lise Tordrup Heeager
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  2. Gitte Tjørnehøj
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lise Tordrup Heeager .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom

    William Wei Song

  2. , School of Information Technology, Jiangxi University of Finance and Econom, Nanchang, 330013, Jiangxi, China, People's Republic

    Shenghua Xu

  3. Finance & Economics, School of Information Management, Jiangxi University of, Fenglin Rd., Nanchang, 330013, Jiangxi, China, People's Republic

    Changxuan Wan

  4. UFIDA Software Technology College, Jiangxi University of Finance & Economic, Fenglin Rd., Nanchang, 330013, Jiangxi, China, People's Republic

    Yuansheng Zhong

  5. College of Business & Economics, Dept. Information Technology &, Boise State University, Univesity Dr. 1910, Boise, 83725-1615, Idaho, USA

    Wita Wojtkowski

  6. College of Business & Economics, Dept. Information Technology &, Boise State University, Univesity Dr. 1910, Boise, 83725-1615, Idaho, USA

    Gregory Wojtkowski

  7. Fac. Information Technology, Monash University, Clayton, 3800, Victoria, Australia

    Henry Linger

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Heeager, L.T., Tjørnehøj, G. (2011). Adopting Quality Assurance Technology in Customer–Vendor Relationships: A Case Study of How Interorganizational Relationships Influence the Process. In: Song, W., et al. Information Systems Development. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7355-9_45

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7355-9_45

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-7205-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-7355-9

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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