Empirical Investigation of the IS / IT Outsourcing Practices in the Kuwaiti Private Sector by Abdulwahed Khalfan & Tom G Gough April 2001

This paper presents an overview of a national case study exploring the IS/IT outsourcing phenomenon in the private sector of a developing country. Kuwait has been used as an example of a developing country and the data collection for this study was done there. The primary data on IS/IT outsourcing practices, obtained for the first time in Kuwait, were collected by means of survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews supported by organisational documentation. Several private sector institutions were selected to participate in the investigation. The initial findings set out in the paper provide an insight into how outsourcing practices, as an information system strategy, are motivated and managed in the context of a developing nation. The findings of this study suggest that there will be an increasing utilisation of IS/IT outsourcing services in the private sector of Kuwait.