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Information Systems Outsourcing pp 273–287Cite as

Towards Understanding Knowledge Integration in Multi-Sourcing Engagements

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Part of the book series: Progress in IS ((PROIS))

Abstract

Nowadays organizations are increasingly outsourcing interdependent business processes and IT services to multiple vendors. While practiced broadly, the multi-sourcing model still presents major challenges to both client and vendor firms. In particular, firms struggle with the integration of knowledge between the client firm and providers of interdependent services. Building on the extant literature, this paper develops an integrative view on knowledge integration in multi-sourcing contexts.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://www.tcs.com/resources/white_papers/Pages/evolution-it-service-management-multi-sourcing-world.aspx.

  2. 2.

    http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240085620/Shell-offers-lessons-on-outsourcing-contracts.

  3. 3.

    Tiwana (2008) assesses alliance performance through alliance ambidexterity which is “the capacity to simultaneously exhibit alignment with alliance objectives and adaptiveness to changes in the environment” (Tiwana 2008, p. 253).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Global Sourcing and Services, Loughborough School of Business and Economics, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK

    Xiaowei Jin & Ilan Oshri

  2. Aston Business School, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK

    Julia Kotlarsky

Authors
  1. Xiaowei Jin
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  2. Julia Kotlarsky
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  3. Ilan Oshri
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julia Kotlarsky .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Business Administration, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

    Rudy Hirschheim

  2. LS ABWL und Wirtschaftsinformatik I, Universität Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany

    Armin Heinzl

  3. Institute for Information Systems Dept of Information Engineering, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Jens Dibbern

Appendix 1: Examples of Multi-Sourcing

Appendix 1: Examples of Multi-Sourcing

Vendor

Services provided

P&G’ global business services

HP

The development of IT applications and the operation of data centers and IT support

IBM

Employee services (e.g. payroll, travel support, expatriate services, etc.)

Jones Lang LaSalle(JLL)

The management of offices and technical centers, including their maintenance

British petroleum (BP)’s IT services

Accenture

Management and development of SAP system

IBM

Service desk support

TCS, Infosys and Wipro

Support and develop applications for business units in the BP oil and gas supply chain

General motors (GM)’s IT services

EDS

Mainframes, servers, desktops, LAN operations, and application integration and management

HP

Server management and enterprise application integration and management

Capgemini

Enterprise application integration and management

IBM

Enterprise application integration and management

Compuware Covisin

Unspecified contract value to support the business-to-business supply chain

Wipro Technologies

Unspecified contract value to support middleware applications and data integration

Ministry of justice (MoJ)’s shared services program

Steria

Common back-office operating platform

Savvis

Hosting services on an infrastructure-as-a-service basis

Accenture

Leading systems integration

ABN Amro’s IT services

IBM

Bank’s global IT Infrastructure, including servers, storage and desktops

Infosys, TCS and Patni

Application support and enhancements

Accenture

Application development

Open to competitive bidding among the five vendors

New application development

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Jin, X., Kotlarsky, J., Oshri, I. (2014). Towards Understanding Knowledge Integration in Multi-Sourcing Engagements. In: Hirschheim, R., Heinzl, A., Dibbern, J. (eds) Information Systems Outsourcing. Progress in IS. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43820-6_11

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