Managing I/S design teams: a control theories perspective
Management Science
Explaining the role of user participation in information system use
Management Science
Connecting the Dots: Aligning Projects with Objectives in Unpredictable Times
Connecting the Dots: Aligning Projects with Objectives in Unpredictable Times
Trust as an Organizing Principle
Organization Science
The Moderating Effects of Structure on Volatility and Complexity in Software Enhancement
Information Systems Research
An Empirical Study of Speed and Communication in Globally Distributed Software Development
IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering
Coordinating Expertise in Software Development Teams
Management Science
Portfolios of Control in Outsourced Software Development Projects
Information Systems Research
IT Outsourcing Strategies: Universalistic, Contingency, and Configurational Explanations of Success
Information Systems Research
A Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm--The Problem-Solving Perspective
Organization Science
The Matrix of Control: Combining Process and Structure Approaches to Managing Software Development
Journal of Management Information Systems
Stopping Behavior of Systems Analysts During Information Requirements Elicitation
Journal of Management Information Systems
An Integrative Contingency Model of Software Project Risk Management
Journal of Management Information Systems
Predictors of Formal Control Usage in IT Outsourcing Partnerships
Information Systems Research
The Art of Lean Software Development: A Practical and Incremental Approach
The Art of Lean Software Development: A Practical and Incremental Approach
IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part A: Systems and Humans
Journal of Management Information Systems
Information and Management
Hybrid Relational-Contractual Governance for Business Process Outsourcing
Journal of Management Information Systems
Contract Performance in Offshore Systems Development: Role of Control Mechanisms
Journal of Management Information Systems
Controlling ERP consultants: Client and provider practices
Journal of Systems and Software
The Impacts of Network Governance on the Performance of ITO: A Study of Taiwanese Firms
Journal of Global Information Management
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Although the choice of control mechanisms in systems development projects has been extensively studied in prior research, differences in such choices across internal and outsourced projects and their effects on systems development performance have not received much attention. This study attempts to address this gap using data on 57 outsourced and 79 internal projects in 136 organizations. Our results reveal a paradoxical overarching pattern: controllers attempt greater use of control mechanisms in outsourced projects relative to internal projects, yet controls enhance systems development performance in internal projects but not in outsourced projects. We introduce a distinction between attempted control and realized control to explain this disconnect, and show how anticipated transaction hazards motivate the former but meeting specific informational and social prerequisites facilitate the latter. Our results contribute three new insights to the systems development control literature. First, controllers attempt to use controller-driven control mechanisms to a greater degree in outsourced projects but controllee-driven control mechanisms to a greater degree in internal projects. Second, we establish a hitherto-missing control-performance link. The nuanced differences in internal and outsourced projects simultaneously confirm and refute a pervasive assertion in the information systems controls literature that control enhances performance. Finally, we show how requirements volatility-which can be at odds with control-alters the control-performance relationships. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed.