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McGuire - Dissertation Final.pdf (2.85 MB)

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WHO WE ARE MATTERS: THE IDENTITY OF THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATION AND OUTSOURCING SUCCESS

McGuire, Carol
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1457534129

Abstract Details

, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Management.
Corporate Information Technology (IT) functions are under increasing pressure to succeed in their IT outsourcing (ITO) arrangements. Although much extant research offers explanations and tactics to improve chances for ITO success, there remain calls for further exploration into the nature of the phenomenon and its broader impacts. One largely unexplored area in ITO research is its connection with salient organizational characteristics of the IT function – including its organizational identity (OI). This study addresses this gap by examining the effects of the IT function’s organizational identity on inter-organizational relationships that emerge within the ITO context. We apply an exploratory sequential mixed method involving a three part study to address the question, how does an IT organization’s identity influence its outsourcing success? In the first qualitative study we focus on the general nature and impact of the IT function’s identity on ITO. In the second, we analyze the influence of the IT organization’s identity strength on ITO success. The final third study explores four conditional effects affecting IT organizational identity’s influence on outsourcing. The conditions include two ITO success antecedents – ITO type and Client-Supplier Cultural Similarity – and two organizational influences – OI type and team-level OI strength. Overall, the three studies make theoretical and practical contributions to the outsourcing and organizational identity literature. First, we find empirical support for IT organization’s identity strength and its influence on inter-organizational relationships during ITO engagements. Second, the effect of OI strength matters more under specific conditions - when IT organizations outsource core functions, maintain a utilitarian OI type of orientation, and have low cultural similarity between the client and the supplier. For management practice, this study suggests to invest in understanding and strengthening organizational identity within IT functions, and then use that strength to encourage its role clarity and desired behaviors with ITO suppliers. Understanding that organizational identity is a cultural element shaping ITO related behaviors discourages the development of simplistic “checklists” for practitioners as they seek to maximize the ITO relationships.
Kalle Lyytinen (Committee Chair)
Information Technology; Organizational Behavior
Outsourcing, Organizational Identity, Inter-organizational Relationships

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • McGuire, C. (2016). WHO WE ARE MATTERS: THE IDENTITY OF THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATION AND OUTSOURCING SUCCESS [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1457534129

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • McGuire, Carol. WHO WE ARE MATTERS: THE IDENTITY OF THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATION AND OUTSOURCING SUCCESS . 2016. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1457534129.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • McGuire, Carol. "WHO WE ARE MATTERS: THE IDENTITY OF THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATION AND OUTSOURCING SUCCESS ." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1457534129

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1457534129
436
© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.