| Companies around the world are turning to outsourcing to help reduce or stabilize costs, access advanced technology, compensate for a lack of skilled information technology (IT) workers, and improve business efficiency. This quantitative and descriptive study investigated the impact of perceived differences in relationships, culture, and attitude between client and vendor employee groups on the success or failure of outsourcing IT in an organization. The survey sample consisted of 125 client employee participants and 125 vendor employee participants from two organizations in the United States. Chi-square analyses were used to assess the significant differences between the responses of the client employees and the vendor employees, and a content analysis was used to assess responses to open-ended questions. The results indicated that significant differences in culture appear to hinder the success of IT outsourcing and that a successful relationship between client and vendor is dependent upon recognition and comprehension of those cultural differences. The current research suggests that given the effects of globalization, a change process model is needed for identifying client and vendor strategic visions. This model takes an open systems perspective and relies on many organizational behavior concepts such as team dynamics, perceptions, and conflict management. The results of this study may contribute to the understanding on the part of managers concerning the social impact of outsourcing such as loss of employment or change of employment status, insecurity due to the stress related to the fear of job loss, and lack of career prospects. |
