The post-contract relationship in IT outsourcing often determines the success or failure of an outsourcing venture. Using five longitudinal case studies, the authors address the various factors involved in outsourcing relationships and present pointers to assist managers and practitioners achieve the 'relationship advantage' in outsourcing.
List of Figures List of Tables About the Authors 1. The IT Outsourcing Phenomenon: Trends, Practices, Challenges 2. Risk Mitigation and the Relationship Advantage in IT Outsourcing 3. Global Relationship Management at Xerox Corporation 4. Relational Dynamics at British Aerospace 5. Alliance Management at British Petroleum Exploration 6. Relationship Management in Selective Outsourcing at ESSO-ITNet 7. Strategic Partnering in Public Sector IT Outsourcing 8. Relationship Management: A Cross-Case Perspective 9. The Relationship Advantage as Practice: Reflections Appendix 1. Research Methodology Appendix 2. The Research Process: Founding the Analytical Frameworks Index
Thomas Kern is Assistant Professor for Information Management at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. He is also a Research Affiliate with the Oxford Institute of Information Management, Templeton College, University of Oxford, and the European Editor of theJournal of InformationTechnology. Leslie P. Willcocks is Arthur Andersen Professor of E-Business and Information Management at Warwick Business School. He is also Associate Fellow at Templeton College, University of Oxford; Visiting Professor in Information Systems at Erasmus University; Professorial Associate at the University of Melbourne; and Distinguished Visitor at the Australian Graduate School of Management. For the last twelve years, he has been Editor-in-Chief of theJournal of Information Technology.