Framework to address Organizational Gaps and Build Knowledge Management Capabilities in Offshore KPO

Many organizations are pursuing knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) to offshore locations. Successful KPO requires developing robust inter organizational knowledge management capabilities (KMC). However, “organizational gaps” that originate from (i) structural differences between the client and vendor’s operating procedures and (ii) cultural differences in the cultural proclivity of the individual workers can hinder building this KMC. To close these gaps and build robust KMC, effective organizational practices are needed that build social capital. Using a field study of a set of knowledge intensive support processes that were outsourced by an US based client to an Indian vendor, this research finds the benefits of building social capital in the form of norms, trust and identity among the workers in the organization through three types of organizational practices –bridging, bonding and linking. These practices helped reduce the organizational gaps and created social capital that was found to increase KMC.