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Information Resource Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008 27

AbstrAct

Due to the growing academic and practitioner interest in the field of outsourcing, there is a need to do a comprehensive assessment and synthesis of research activities to date. This article addresses this need and examines the academic literature on information systems outsourcing and business process outsourcing using a paradigmatic and methodological lens. The objective of this article is fourfold. Firstly, it examines the status of outsourcing research from 1995 to 2005 in eight leading academic journals, to compare the current research trends with past research directions in terms of methodologies applied. Secondly, it ana- lyzes the research paradigms adopted in these research papers using the Operations Research Paradigm framework. Thirdly, it compares and contrasts the outsourcing research work published in three leading European journals with the work published in three leading American journals. Finally, it uncovers the implications of this study and the directions for future research.

Keywords: methodology; outsourcing of IS; qualitative research; quantitative research; review; research paradigms

A Paradigmatic and Methodological review of research in Outsourcing

Vanita Yadav, Management Development Institute, India

Rajen K. Gupta, Management Development Institute, India

INtrODUctION Eastman Kodak’s decision to outsource its information systems (IS) function in 1989 to IBM, DEC, and Businessland formally launched the phenomenon of outsourcing in the corpo- rate world which aroused interest worldwide. Outsourcing is defined as the procurement of products and services from sources that are external to the organization (Lankford & Parsa, 1999). The e-commerce revolution has forced the transformation of traditional IS outsourcing structures into new outsourcing service configurations, like Internet service

outsourcing, application service outsourcing, and business process (BP) outsourcing (Wat- jatrakul, 2005).

Businesses today are growing in complex- ity and the world is moving towards global- ization. As a result the forces of outsourcing have become a present-day reality and are poised for phenomenal growth in the future. The importance of outsourcing in industry has led to extensive research in this area. Most of the research done in outsourcing is in the field of IS outsourcing. In the last few years, there has been a rise in another more process-centric

28 Information Resources Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008

approach to outsourcingbusiness process outsourcing, in which the outsourcing vendor offers to take responsibility for an entire client process (Harmon, 2003). Due to the growing academic and practitioner interest in the field of outsourcing, there is a need to do a com- prehensive assessment of research activities to date. This article aims to address this need of exploring and synthesizing the academic literature on outsourcing.

Although Dibbern, Goles, Hirschheim, Rudy, and Jayatilaka (2004) and Gonzalez, Gasco, and Llopis (2006) have carried out a survey and analysis of literature in the field of IS outsourcing, the goal of this research is to extend existing insights. The focus of Gonza- lez et al.’s (2006) IS outsourcing review was to identify the main topics of IS outsourcing, the methodologies most often applied, and the authors and countries that have contributed most to the area of IS outsourcing. The focus of Dibbern et al.’s (2004) IS outsourcing review was on research objectives, methods used, and theoretical foundations to view outsourcing as an organizational decision process using Simon’s model of decision making. In contrast, our study covers IS as well as BP outsourcing research, and carries out a methodological and paradigmatic examination of literature. Hence this study makes a contribution to the philosophical and methodological foundations of research in outsourcing. Additionally, it also presents a comparative analysis of the outsourc- ing research trends in leading American and European journals.

The objective of this article is fourfold. Firstly, it examines the status of outsourcing research in from 1995 to 2005 in eight lead- ing academic journals, to compare the current research trends with past research directions in terms of methodologies applied. Secondly, it analyzes the research paradigms adopted in these research papers using the Operations Research Paradigm framework of Meredith, Raturi, Amoako-Gyampah, and Kaplan (1989). Thirdly, it compares and contrasts the outsourc- ing research work published in three leading European journals with the work published

in three leading American journals. Finally, it uncovers the implications of this study and directions for future research.

The article is organized as follows. In the next section, the review of existing research literature on IS and BP outsourcing is presented. Subsequently, the choice of methodology for collecting and analyzing data is explained, fol- lowed by discussion of the results. The article ends with implications of the study, directions of future research, and contributions.

LItErAtUrE rEVIEW

Outsourcing Outsourcing involves contracting with an ex- ternal provider for the provision of a service which may have been provided using in-house staff (Domberger, Fernandez, & Fiebig, 2000). Outsourcing has been around for more than a decade, but it got formal recognition only after the famous Kodak deal in 1989. Since then it has generated a stir in the practitioner community. Academics, by and large, have been relatively slow to research this phenomenon (Dibbern et al., 2004). While academic research has been slow to follow the practitioner community, it is now being recognized as an important area of research. This article focuses on the following two kinds of outsourcing:

• Information Systems Outsourcing: Willcocks and Kern (1998) define IS outsourcing as the handing over to a third party management of IT/IS assets, resources, and/or activities for required results. Cheon, Grover, and Teng (1995) define information technology outsourcing as the organizational decision to turnover part or all of an organization’s IS functions to external service provider(s) in order for an organization to be able to achieve its goals.

• Business Process Outsourcing: The Accenture Institute for Strategic Change suggests that BP outsourcing goes further than technology infrastructure or even applications. The outsourcing service

Information Resource Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008 29

provider takes primary responsibility for ensuring that the process works, interfaces effectively with other company functions, and delivers the outcome intended. BP outsourcing refers to an outsourcing re- lationship where a third-party provider is responsible for performing the entire business function for the client organization (Dibbern et al., 2004). A number of indus- tries are considering BP outsourcingin particular, government, financial services, healthcare, transportation, and logistics (Millar, 1994).

research Paradigms in Is research Orlikowski and Baroudu (1991) and Chen and Hirschheim (2004) indicate that positivism dominates IS research while other paradigms are relatively small in number. The following three references outline the paradigmatic analysis of IS research between 1985 and 2001:

• Orlikowski and Baroudu (1991) exam- ined 155 articles on IS research published between 1985 and 1989 in MIS Quarterly (MISQ), Communications of the ACM (CACM), Management Science (MS), and Proceedings of the International Confer- ence on Information Systems (ICIS). Their findings indicated that positivist paradigm overwhelmingly dominated the IS research community and little attention was paid to interpretive paradigm.

• Chen and Hirschheim (2004) analyzed 1,893 articles on IS research published between 1991 and 2001 in MISQ, Informa- tion Systems Research (ISR), Journal of Management Information Systems (JMIS), ICIS, Information and Organization (I&O), Information Systems Journal (ISJ), Jour- nal of Information Technology (JIT), and European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS). Their analysis indicates that while there has been some paradigmatic change in the IS research community since 1990, this change has not significantly manifested itself in journal publications. In most re-

search journals, positivism maintains its prevailing dominant position.

• Dibbern et al. (2004) examined 84 articles on IS outsourcing published between 1988 and 2000 in I&O, CACM, EJIS, JIT, JMIS, Information and Management (I&M), ISJ, ISR, MISQ, Academy of Management Journal (AMJ), Academy of Management Review (AMR), Decision Sciences (DS), MS, Organization Science (OS), Strategic Management Journal (SMJ), Harvard Business Review (HBR), California Man- agement Review (CMR), Sloan Manage- ment Review (SMR), ICIS, and Hawaii International Conference on System Sci- ences (HICSS). Their results indicate that there is a balanced aggregation of research approaches in IS outsourcing on the positiv- ism-interpretivism continuum. However, the American outlets were dominated by the positivist paradigm and the European outlets were dominated by the interpretive paradigm.

MEtHODOLOGY

Journal representations For the purpose of this research, the focus was on mainstream journals that would reflect prog- ress in the field of IS and BP outsourcing in the last 10 years, ranging from 1995 to 2005. The rationale behind the choice of leading journals in IS and management fields has been investigated by Walsham (1995), Orlikowski and Baroudu (1991), and Chen and Hirschheim (2004). The following academic journals were examined:

• Three mainstream American IS journals: Information Systems Research, MIS Quarterly, and Journal of Management Information Systems.

• Three mainstream European IS journals: Journal of Information Technology, Euro- pean Journal of Information Systems, and European Management Journal.

• Two mainstream management journals: Management Science and Decision Sci- ences.

30 Information Resources Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008

Paradigmatic representations For paradigmatic analysis, this article uses the Operations Research Paradigm framework by Meredith et al. (1989) as shown in Figure 1. This framework has been used by researchers in the operations management area (Meredith et al., 1989; Sachan & Datta, 2005). It serves as a comprehensive analysis tool in a two-di- mensional format and is in the same way ap- plicable to the field of IS research also. Hence this research extends the body of knowledge in the IS arena by using this Operations Re- search Paradigm framework to analyze the research paradigms in IS and BP outsourcing literature. Here it may be useful to mention that a paradigmatic perspective goes beyond the dichotomous classifications of research methods and techniques. Such a perspective helps the research community to undertake a reflective examination of its ontological and epistemological assumptions including the underlying values held by the community.

The analysis of this article focuses on the following paradigms: axiomatic, positivist, interpretive, direct observation of object real- ity, people’s perception of object reality, and artificial construction of object reality.

Methodological representations The analysis of research methodology used in the identified journal papers focuses on the following areas: empirical vs. non-empirical; quantitative vs. qualitative; cross-sectional vs. longitudinal; research designs (survey, focus group, case study, experiment, and action research); sources of data; hypothesis testing; and the data analysis techniques (descriptive analysis, regression, factor analysis, correlation, cluster analysis, conjoint analysis, path analysis, Logit model, structural equation modeling).

Empirical vs. Non-Empirical The empirical studies rely on observations and data, and the non-empirical studies rely on ideas and concepts. The categorization in this research is established as empirical if the articles obtain real data or observations, which could be gathered through quantitative, qualitative, or a mixed approach, including archival data (Chen & Hirschheim, 2004).

Quantitative vs. Qualitative The criterion for categorizing research methods as quantitative or qualitative in this article is based on whether studies use a statistical or

KIND OF INFORMATION USED ARTIFICIALNATURAL

RATIONAL

NATURE OF TRUTH

EXISTENTIAL

Axiomatic

Logical Positivist/ Empiricist

Interpretive

Critical Theory

Direct Observation of Object Reality

Peoples preceptions of Object Reality

Reason/Logic/Theorems, Normative Modelling and

Descriptive Modelling

Prototyping, Simulation, Laboratory Experiments

Conceptual Modelling and Hermeneutics

Historical Analysis, Expert Panels,

Delphi and intensive interviewing

Structured Interviewing and Survey Research

Action Research and Case Studies

Field Experiments and Field Studies

Figure 1. Operations Research Paradigm framework (adapted from Meredith et al., 1989; see Appendix 1)

Information Resource Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008 31

numerical approach to collect and analyze data (Chen & Hirschheim, 2004). There is a possibil- ity that research could use both quantitative and qualitative methods in different stages of the study. On such occasions, they are categorized as a mixed research method.

Cross-Sectional vs. Longitudinal Chen and Hirschheim (2004) described longi- tudinal study as a research that evolves over an uninterrupted period of time and focuses on process. Cross-sectional study, on the other hand, is research that collects data through one snapshot at a particular point of time (Orlikowski & Baroudi, 1991).

Research Designs Adapting the research design categorizations from Orlikowski and Baroudi (1991) and Chen and Hirschheim (2004), the following research designs were identified:

• Survey: Research articles involving data collection via questionnaires.

• Focus Group: Group discussions explor- ing a specific set of issues to generate data.

• Case Study: Research articles that are involved with a single site or a few sites over a certain period of time that involved in-depth study of a phenomenon. The case study inquiry usually relies on multiple sources of evidences (Yin, 1994).

• Experiment: Studies that take place within a designed, controlled environment and usually involve special treatment of different groups to contrast the precise relationships among variables (Galliers, 1991).

• Action Research: The researchers are an integral part of the phenomenon under study. The researchers’ input often influ- ences the outcomes of the phenomenon, and his/her role could change from researcher to subject (Galliers, 1991).

• Others: Articles that are practitioner oriented (systems or tools development), non-empirical pieces, or descriptive/ar-

gumentative as noted in Galliers’s (1991) classification. Research with secondary data such as public records or existing datasets is also included in this category.

Sources of Data The sources of data involve collecting data from primary data sources or secondary data sources. The articles involving scenarios and examples have been categorized under the others category.

Hypothesis Testing A hypothesis is a specific statement of predic- tion (Sachan & Datta, 2005). The development of science can be seen as a sequence of revi- sions of hypotheses. Our knowledge of reality involves sequence of trials and errors (Sachan & Datta, 2005). Under hypothesis testing, it is checked in the research paper whether the study involves explicit formulation and testing of research hypotheses.

Data Analysis Techniques Data analysis techniques help researchers in:

• summarizing data; • understanding the effect of variable (s) on

the variable under study; • minimizing confounding effects inherent

in data, such as questionnaire data; and • assessing alternative future scenarios.

Major techniques used for data analysis are descriptive analysis, regression factor analysis, correlation, cluster analysis, conjoint analysis, path analysis, Logit model, and structural equa- tion modeling.

rEsULts This article assessed the state of research in IS and BP outsourcing by examining the research paradigms and research methodologies adopted in 70 articles in eight leading academic journals between 1995 and 2005. The findings of the study reveal that on IS and BP outsourcing, between 1995 and 2005, there were 20 articles in

32 Information Resources Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008

the three American IS journals, 41 articles in the three European IS journals, and nine articles in two management science journals (see Figure 2). The European journals indicated more research in the outsourcing field (see Figure 3).

Methodological representations

Empirical vs. Non-Empirical Forty-three articles fell under the empirical category and 22 under the non-empirical cat- egory (see Figure 4). In American IS journals there were 10 indicating empirical approach and 10 indicating non-empirical approach. The European IS journals had 29 empirical articles and eight non-empirical articles. The manage- ment journals had four empirical articles and four non-empirical articles. American journals had an equal balance of empirical and non-em- pirical articles, whereas the European journals indicated applying mostly empirical approaches (see Figure 5).

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Thirty-eight articles fell under the qualitative category and 24 under the quantitative category (see Figure 6). In American IS journals there were six indicating qualitative approach, 12 indicating quantitative approach, and two indi- cating mixed-method approach. The European IS journals had 30 qualitative articles, six quan- titative articles, and one mixed-method article. The management journals had two qualitative articles and six quantitative articles. The Ameri- can journals mainly were quantitative research focused, whereas the European journals were qualitative research focused (see Figure 7).

Cross-Sectional vs. Longitudinal Thirty-four articles fell under the cross-

sectional category and six under the longitu- dinal category (see Figure 8). In American IS journals there were 12 indicating cross-sectional approach and one indicating longitudinal ap- proach. The European IS journals had 21 cross- sectional articles and four longitudinal articles. The management journals had one cross-sec-

MISQ ISR

JMIS JIT

EJIS

EMJ

American Journals European Journals

Comparis on of Total Numbe r of Pape rs in Ame rican and Europe an Journals (1995-2005)

MIsQ Isr JMIs JIt EJIs EMJ

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Re s e arch: ITO & BPO (1995-2005)

Management Journals

13%

European Is Journals

58%

American Is Journals

29% American Is Journals European Is Journals Management Journals

Information Resource Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008 33

Figure 4.

Empirical vs . Non-e mpiricalNON- EMPIrIcAL

34%

EMPIrIcAL 66%

EMPIrIcAL NON-EMPIrIcAL

Figure 5.

8 4 0 5

10 15 20 25 30

American Is European Is Management

Empirical vs . Non-e mpirical Journalwis e

Empirical Non-empirical

4 10

Figure 6.

Figure 7.

Quantitative vs . Qualitative

Mixed method 5%Quantitative

37%

Qualitative 58%

Qualitative Quantitative Mixed m ethod

6 12

6 1 2 6 00

5 10 15 20 25 30

American Is European Is Management

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Journalwise

Qualitative Quantitative Mixed Method

34 Information Resources Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008

tional article and one longitudinal article. Both the American and European journals involved mostly cross-sectional approaches (see Figure 9). The longitudinal approach was insignificant in number.

Research Designs Fifteen articles fell under the survey research, one under focus group, 18 under case study, and 38 under the ‘others’ category. There were no articles under action research and experimen- tal research. Research in the ‘others’ category included: one literature review paper, nine conceptual model-building papers, 10 math- ematical model-building papers, one research commentary paper, and 17 papers based upon secondary data analysis. Case study research was the most predominant research design, followed by secondary data analysis and survey research (see Figures 10 and 11).

Sources of Data There were 30 articles using primary data sourc- es, 31 articles using secondary data sources,

and 13 articles in the others category, which included examples and scenarios (see Figure 12). In American IS journals there were eight indicating primary data sources, 13 indicating secondary data sources, and seven indicating other sources. The European IS journals had 20 primary data sources articles, 14 secondary data sources articles, and five other sources articles. The management journals had two primary data sources articles, four secondary data sources articles, and one ‘other’ sources article. European journals mainly relied on primary data sources, whereas the American and management science journals relied on secondary data sources (see Figure 13).

Hypothesis Testing Eight articles indicated hypotheses test-

ing out of the 70 articles reviewed (see Figure 14). The American IS journals had five articles indicating hypotheses testing, the European IS journals had two articles involving hypotheses testing, and the management journals had one article indicating hypotheses testing. Thus the

Figure 8.

Figure 9.

Cros s -s e ctional vs . Longitudinal Longitudinal

15%

cross- sectional

85%

cross-sectional Longitudinal

4 1 1 0

American Is European Is Management

Cros s -s e ctional vs . Longitudinal Journalwis e

cross-sectional Longitudinal

Information Resource Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008 35

Figure 10.

Figure 11.

Figure 12.

Figure 13.

Research Design Lit Rev

1%Math Modeling 14%

Comm entary 1%

Conceptual 13%

Sec Data 24%

Focus Group 1%

Case study 25%

Survey 21%

surv e y case study Focus Group se c Data conce ptual M ath M ode ling comme ntary Lit re v

6 3 1

1 1 0 6

American Is European Is Management

Re s e arch De s ign Journalwis e

survey case study Focus Group Others

Source s of Data Others

18%

secondary 41%

Prim ary 41%

Prim ary secondary Others

5 2

4 1 0

Am erican Is European Is Managem ent

Source s of Data Journalwis e

Prim ary secondary Others

36 Information Resources Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008

American journals indicated a greater trend towards hypothesis testing than the European journals (see Figure 15).

Data Analysis Techniques There were 28 articles which indicated descrip- tive analysis, nine involving applied regression, four involving factor analysis, three involving correlation, two indicating Logit model, two involving structural equation modeling, and 23 under the ‘others’ category (see Figure 16). There were no articles applying cluster analy- sis, conjoint analysis, and path analysis. The ‘others’ category involved qualitative analysis of interview transcripts. American journals applied higher quantitative statistical analysis techniques whereas the European journals were restricted to mainly descriptive and qualitative techniques (see Figure 17).

Paradigmatic representations The paradigmatic analysis for IS and BP outsourcing research in 70 papers using the

Operations Research Paradigm framework is tabulated in Figure 18.

The literature review highlighted that the American journals are predominantly positiv- ist in approach, but the results show that in the area of IS and BP outsourcing, they are also adopting interpretive paradigms. Although American journals are still more inclined to- wards positivism (positivist and axiomatic11 articles), the trend towards interpretive research (nine articles) is evident. The European jour- nals belong predominantly to the interpretive paradigm (interpretive30 articles; positivist and axiomaticseven articles).

IMPLIcAtIONs Analysis of previous review papers in IS re- search highlights that positivist paradigm holds a dominant position. A paper by Galliers and Meadow (2003) offers a possible explanation in this regard. They discovered that editorial board members of North American journals like ISR and MISQ were primarily North American

Figure 14.

Figure 15.

Hypothesis Testing

No 89%

Yes 11%

Yes No

1 0

American Is European Is Management

Hypothe s is Te s ting Journalwis e

Hypothesis testing

Information Resource Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008 37

Figure 16.

Figure 17.

Data Analysis Techniques

Logit 3%

SEM 3%

Others 32%

Correlation 4%

Factor 6%

Regression 13%

Descriptive 39%

De scriptiv e re gre ssion Factor corre lation Logit sEM Othe rs

3 3 2 1

1 0 0 0 0

2 4

American Is European Is Management

Data Analys is Te chnique s Journalwis e

Descriptive regression Factor correlation Logit sEM Others

1 1 0 0 1

Direct Observation Of Object Reality

People’s Perceptions Of Object Reality

Artificial Reconstruc- tion Of Object Reality

AXIOMATIC

American Journals:

• JMIS (3)

Management Journals

• MS (4)

• DS (1)

European Journals:

• JIT (1)

Figure 18.

continued on following page

38 Information Resources Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008

LOGICAL POSITIVIST/

EMPIRICIST

American Journals:

• ISR (3)

• MISQ (2)

• JMIS (3)

Management Journals

• MS (1)

• DS (1)

European Journals:

• JIT (4)

European Journals:

• EMJ (2)

INTERPRETIVE

American Journals:

• MISQ (2)

European Journals:

• JIT (2)

• EJIS (6)

• EMJ (6)

American Journals:

• ISR (2)

• JMIS (4)

Management Journals

• MS (1)

European Journals:

• JIT (5)

• EJIS (2)

• EMJ (9)

American Journals:

• MISQ (1)

CRITICAL THEORY

Figure 18. continued

researchers (between 75% and 87.5% for ISR, and 51.2% and 86.8% for MISQ), and these journals tended to publish articles written by North American researchers (74% for ISR and 83% for MISQ). A similar situation was reported for European journals where the editorial board members were largely European, as were the papers published (Galliers & Meadow, 2003; Chen & Hirschheim, 2004). Galliers and

Meadow (2003) concluded that the IS field maintained a “homegrown” perspective. Fur- ther, traditional wisdom has long recognized that positivist research is more easily accepted because its research tradition has been more successfully established (Hirschheim & Klein, 2002). The mainstream North American journal, MISQ, had publicly announced its acceptance of alternate research approaches in 1993. Chen

Information Resource Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008 39

and Hirschheim (2004) reported from their em- pirical analysis of 1,893 articles that even after years of advocacy of paradigmatic pluralism, not much has changed. On the contrary our findings indicate that a change is noticeable as the American journalsthough still more inclined towards positivism (positivist and axiomatic11 articles)are also publishing interpretive research (nine articles). However, this can also be attributed to the recency of the phenomenon of outsourcing.

Another interesting observation is that highlighted by the comparison between em- pirical and non-empirical studies. Our analysis revealed that 66% of the papers were empirical in nature. Chen and Hirschheim (2004) have also reported that researchers have increased their use of empirical data collection. Interest- ingly, our study revealed that the American journals had an equal balance of empirical and non-empirical articles whereas the Euro- pean journals indicated applying mostly the empirical approach. Chen and Hirschheim (2004) state that as a field matures, theoretical and conceptual developments become less ap- pealing, and empirical studies become more popular because of the need for theory testing and practical relevance. The European journals indicated more research in the outsourcing field (58%) as compared to the American journals (29%). For this reason the European journals could possibly regard outsourcing research as a mature field and show greater adoption of empirical studies.

Both the American and European journals mainly involved cross-sectional studies. Longi- tudinal approach was insignificant in quantum. It can be due to the contention that cross-sectional studies enjoyed more popular positions (Chen & Hirschheim, 2004) and prevalence of a ‘publish or perish’ research publication notion (Walsham, 1995). Also, research using literature reviews, conceptual model building, mathematical model building, and research commentaries were the most predominant research designs followed by case study and survey research. The European journals mainly relied on primary data sources whereas the American journals relied more on

Figure 19 presents the summary of data based upon methodological and paradigmatic rep- resentations.

40 Information Resources Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008

secondary data sources. Finally, the American journals applied higher quantitative statistical analysis techniques and indicated a greater trend towards hypothesis testing, whereas the European journals applied mainly descriptive and qualitative techniques.

To summarize, this study reveals that in the area of outsourcing, interpretive paradigm is beginning to dominate if two sides of the Atlantic are put together. This can probably be attributed to the reality that European journals are publishing more in this area and they are more interpretively inclined. Newness of out- sourcing could also be one possible explanation as the more positivist inclined American jour- nals were also reporting interpretive research in this area.

DIrEctIONs FOr FUtUrE rEsEArcH The IS and BP outsourcing industry is poised for phenomenal growth, and this area has high potential for future research. Outsourcing has emerged as a multifaceted subject. There is a great deal of diversity in terms of research ob- jectives, theoretical foundations, and methods (Dibbern et al., 2004). Additional exploratory content analysis of the papers revealed various emerging research areas. These are summarized as follows:

• Longitudinal studies: An evident need for longitudinal studies is a key finding of this study. There is an opportunity for research- ers to move beyond the snapshot studies and broaden the perspective of outsourcing by incorporating temporal effects to answer questions like, How does the outsourcing process change over time?

• Client-vendor relationships: An in-depth understanding of the key issues underlying client-vendor relationships is required. Most of the studies were from the client perspective, and there was a need for further examining the vendor perspective. Addi- tionally, dyadic studies incorporating both the client and vendor perspective would

offer better understanding of the dynamics of such engagements.

• Client-vendor governance arrange- ments: An increasing number of varied outsourcing contracts have increased the complexities of governance mechanisms. There is a need to explore such engage- ments and understand the dynamics of con- trol. Additionally, the impact of informal relationship between the client and vendor organizations can lead to interesting stud- ies. There is an emerging nature of such relationships. This promising trend to move beyond the contractual engagements can be explored. What is the impact of trust on the governance of such arrangements? How does an outsourcing contract-relationship evolve over time?

• Risk management: Turning over the entire business process to a vendor brings with itself various risks. Studies conceptual- izing and examining comprehensive risk assessment frameworks can aid in better understanding the dynamics of outsourcing risks.

• Operationalization and measurement of outsourcing success: Success is defined differently in various papers by various stakeholders and researchers. The compli- cated nature of the perception of success makes it a difficult variable to operational- ize. Hence an all-inclusive view of success can be explored.

• Emerging role of countries: The emerging role of countries—like India, China, the Philippines, and othersfrom cost-sav- ing outsourcing destinations to strategic value-adding outsourcing destinations is also a fertile area for future research.

Furthermore, the dataset of this research was limited to eight journals only. Hence this study can be taken forward by researchers for larger assessment by including other manage- ment science journals in the area of information systems, operations, human resources, organi- zational behavior, finance, and strategy.

Information Resource Management Journal, 21(1), 27-43, January-March 2008 41

cONcLUsION The purpose of this article was to study the literature on IS and BP outsourcing using a meth- odological and paradigmatic lens. The analysis of publication trends brings out a growing awareness of non-positivist approaches to doing research in outsourcing. However, the analysis also brings out a continuing divide across the Atlantic Ocean. The authors hope that awareness of such a divide would trigger a meaningful dialogue over the underlying perspectives so that it stimulates more wholesome research across the globe. A better balance between the positivist and interpretive is also likely to save us from making unnecessary blunders due to cultural blindness of the positivist paradigm in the outsourcing phenomenon, which by its very nature straddles far-flung continents and cultural worlds. The analysis also shows the paucity of longitudinal and action research studies, which actually have great potential to generate deeper insights about the challenges to the management of outsourcing. In sum, the article attempts to stimulate a reflective introspection in the research community interested in the emerging phenomenon of outsourcing.

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