The Impact of the IT Outsourcing Relationship on the Success of the Venture: A Research Agenda

The paper proposes a conceptual model based on the Interaction Approach a relationship framework that is used to further engage research into IT outsourcing relationships. It is the nature of interactions and the exchange processes embodied in the social aspect of the relationship that is the focus of this paper. By drawing on an extensive literature review of outsourcing research the paper offers to advance knowledge and understanding of IT outsourcing relationships. The framework is advocated as the most appropriate instrument for the management of and investment in outsourcing relationships in the contemporary business environment. The aim is to generate scholarly discussion and to set a research agenda, not to offer definitive answers. Several research studies have emphasized the importance of the outsourcing relationship for outsourcing success yet they lack the clarity about how relationships could be managed effectively and leveraged for business advantage. This paper addresses this gap in IT outsourcing literature and argues that it is in the creation of social capital how the actions, attitudes, consensus and cooperative mechanisms of management and staff in interaction with their counterparts in partner organizations influence and affect the outsourcing relationship and the evolving social structure that determines success in the venture.