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Knowledge transfer planning and execution in offshore outsourcing: An applied approach

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Abstract

In this paper, we report from a longitudinal project about knowledge transfer conducted in a major financial company headquartered in Denmark and an offshore development center located in Bangalore, India. We identify the main knowledge transfer challenges experienced by the case company. The challenges inform the conceptual design of a systematic five-step approach to the company’s knowledge transfer. Our main contribution is to illustrate how extant research can be applied to understand and solve the knowledge transfer challenges of a particular company in a way that fits with the outsourcing setup and the company culture. We also draw attention to the fact that client side managers play a crucial role in determining how and with what priority knowledge transfer can take place. Our research indicates that a first, important step towards ensuring successful knowledge transfer in outsourcing is to focus on the training and support of client side managers.

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Notes

  1. An example of an IT development project that was carried out by a team consisting of both Danish and Indian employees was the re-launch of Danske Bank’s web bank application, while the company’s IT systems for HRM (salary payment, staffing, competence development, etc.) is an example of a application management area that is maintained (i.e. operational problems) and further enhanced (i.e. new functionality) by a team consisting of both Danes and Indians.

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Acknowledgments

An earlier version of this paper was presented at IFIP WG 8.6 2013, see Madsen et al. (2013). We thank the anonymous reviewers for many constructive comments. The research was supported by a grant from the Danish Ministry for Science, Technology and Development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IT University of Copenhagen, Games & Interaction Design, Rued Langgaards vej 7, 2300, Copenhagen S, Denmark

    Sabine Madsen

  2. Department of Communication, Business and Information Technologies, Roskilde University, Building 43.2, Universitetsvej 1, DK-4000, Roskilde, Denmark

    Keld Bødker

  3. Copenhagen Business School, Department of Intercultural Communication and Management, Porcelænshaven 18A., DK-2000, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    Thomas Tøth

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  1. Sabine Madsen
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  2. Keld Bødker
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Correspondence to Keld Bødker.

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Madsen, S., Bødker, K. & Tøth, T. Knowledge transfer planning and execution in offshore outsourcing: An applied approach. Inf Syst Front 17, 67–77 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-014-9516-3

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