Information Systems Development Outsourcing: The Role of Control Configurations

The Control theory provides a useful theoretical foundation for examining the coordination between the client and the vendor in information systems development outsourcing (ISD-outsourcing). Recent research has identified two control mechanisms: structural (structure of the control mode) and process (the process through which the control mode is enacted). Yet, control theory research to-date does not describe the ways in which the two control mechanisms can be combined to ensure project success. Grounded in case study data from eight ISD-outsourcing projects, we delineate three ‘control configurations’; i) aligned, ii) negotiated, and iii) self-managed, which describe the combinative patterns of structural and process control mechanisms within and across different control modes.