Determinants of information technology outsourcing: a cross-sectional analysis
Journal of Management Information Systems
Employment outsourcing in information systems
Communications of the ACM
Leveraging the new infrastructure: how market leaders capitalize on information technology
Leveraging the new infrastructure: how market leaders capitalize on information technology
The myths and realities of information technology insourcing
Communications of the ACM
Designing Complex Organizations
Designing Complex Organizations
Global Information Technology Outsourcing: In Search of Business Advantage
Global Information Technology Outsourcing: In Search of Business Advantage
Informational environments: organizational contexts of online information use
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
Information Systems Research
Real Options and IT Platform Adoption: Implications for Theory and Practice
Information Systems Research
IT Outsourcing Strategies: Universalistic, Contingency, and Configurational Explanations of Success
Information Systems Research
Information systems outsourcing: a survey and analysis of the literature
ACM SIGMIS Database
HICSS '05 Proceedings of the Proceedings of the 38th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - Volume 08
A framework for information technology outsourcing risk management
ACM SIGMIS Database
Just Right Outsourcing: Understanding and Managing Risk
Journal of Management Information Systems
Information Technology as an Enabler of Growth in Firms: An Empirical Assessment
Journal of Management Information Systems
Journal of Management Information Systems
Journal of Management Information Systems
Journal of Management Information Systems
Proximity and Information Technology Outsourcing: How Local Are IT Services Markets?
Journal of Management Information Systems
A Learning Model of Information Technology Outsourcing: Normative Implications
Journal of Management Information Systems
A Transaction Cost Perspective of the "Software as a Service" Business Model
Journal of Management Information Systems
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Despite the extensive research on information technology (IT) outsourcing, our knowledge and understanding of how industry characteristics impact the use of IT outsourcing remain limited. Drawing upon theories from organization behavior and industrial economics, this study identifies four major industry characteristics (i.e., munificence, dynamism, concentration, and capital intensity) and investigates how each of these factors affects the use of IT outsourcing. Specifically, we postulate that the extent of industry munificence is positively related to the utilization of IT outsourcing. Since timely strategic actions are the crucial aspects of leveraging munificent resources, IT outsourcing, which can be implemented in short periods of time, is considered to be a preferred option in such environments. Furthermore, industry dynamism is also positively associated with IT outsourcing, given that firms in dynamically evolving industries tend to look for flexibility and avoid a large amount of fixed investments (e.g., IT development in-house). In contrast to these hypotheses, we predict that industry concentration is negatively related to IT outsourcing. Firms in concentrated industries are likely to develop their own IT infrastructures, as they are not constrained by institutional pressures or cost-driven strategic actions. Finally, because firms in capital-intensive industries tend to conform to long-standing traditional practices, and do not highly value novel and risky practices, they will be less likely to use IT outsourcing than firms in industries with low capital intensity. The data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis along with Compustat empirically validated all of the proposed hypotheses; however, only marginal support was found for the association between industry concentration and IT outsourcing. Our findings offer business executives and IT service providers strategic and managerial insights into the dynamics and complexities involved in the diverse aspects of industry environments and IT outsourcing decisions.