Control balancing in information systems development offshoring projects

MIS Quarterly: Management Information Systems

Volumn 37, Issue 4, 2013, Pages 1211-1232

  Gregory, Robert Wayne ^a   Beck, Roman ^b   Keil, Mark ^c  

^a IESE BUSINESS SCHOOL   (Spain)

^b GOETHE UNIVERSITY   (Germany)

^c GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Control balancing; Control dynamics; Grounded theory; Information systems development; Longitudinal case study; Offshoring projects; Organizational control; Outsourcing relationships; Process model; Project management

Indexed keywords

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT; INFORMATION SYSTEMS; LIFE CYCLE; LONGITUDINAL CONTROL; MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS; OUTSOURCING; PROJECT MANAGEMENT;

CONTROL DYNAMIC; GROUNDED THEORY; INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT; LONGITUDINAL CASE STUDY; OFF-SHORING; ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROLS; OUTSOURCING RELATIONSHIPS; PROCESS MODELING;

PROCESS CONTROL;

EID: 84887428694     PISSN: 02767783     EISSN: 21629730     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.25300/MISQ/2013/37.4.10     Document Type: Article

References (55)

1. Bacharach, S. B. 1989. "Organizational Theories: Some Criteria for Evaluation," The Academy of Management Review (14:4), pp. 496-515.
2. Barker, J. R. 1993. "Tightening the Iron Cage: Concertive Control in Self-Managing Teams," Administrative Science Quarterly (38:3), pp. 408-437.
3. Bradach, J. L., and Eccles, R. G. 1989. "Price, Authority, and Trust: From Ideal Types to Plural Forms," Annual Review of Sociology (15:1), pp. 97-118.
4. Bryant, A., and Charmaz, K. 2007. The Sage Handbook of Grounded Theory, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
5. Cardinal, L. B., Sitkin, S. B., and Long, C. P. 2004. "Balancing and Rebalancing in the Creation and Evolution of Organizational Control," Organization Science (15:4), pp. 411-431.
6. Choudhury, V., and Sabherwal, R. 2003. "Portfolios of Control in Outsourced Software Development Projects," Information Systems Research (14:3), pp. 291-314.
7. Das, T. K., and Teng, B.-S. 1998. "Between Trust and Control: Developing Confidence in Partner Cooperation in Alliances," Academy of Management Review (23:3), pp. 491-512.
8. Dibbern, J., Winkler, J., and Heinzl, A. 2008. "Explaining Variations in Client Extra Costs Between Software Projects Offshored to India," MIS Quarterly (32:2), pp. 333-366.
9. Eisenhardt, K. M. 1989. "Building Theories from Case Study Research," Academy of Management Review (14:4), pp. 532-550.
10. Eisenhardt, K. M., Furr, N. R., and Bingham, C. B. 2010. "Microfoundations of Performance: Balancing Efficiency and Flexibility in Dynamic Environments," Organization Science (21:6), pp. 1263-1273.
11. Eisenhardt, K. M., and Graebner, M. E. 2007. "Theory Building from Cases: Opportunities and Challenges," Academy of Management Journal (50:1), pp. 25-32.
12. Ghemawat, P. 2007. "Managing Differences," Harvard Business Review (85:3), pp. 58-68.
13. Glaser, B. G. 1978. Theoretical Sensitivity, Mill Valley, CA: The Sociology Press.
14. Glaser, B. G. 1992. Emergence Vs. Forcing: Basics of Grounded Theory Analysis, Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.
15. Glaser, B. G., and Strauss, A. 1967. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research, Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company.
16. Gopal, A., and Gosain, S. 2010. "The Role of Organizational Controls and Boundary Spanning in Software Development Outsourcing: Implications for Project Performance," Information Systems Research (21:4), pp. 960-982.
17. Heiskanen, A., Newman, M., and Eklin, M. 2008. "Control, Trust, Power, and the Dynamics of Information System Outsourcing Relationships: A Process Study of Contractual Software Development," Journal of Strategic Information Systems (17:4), pp. 268-286.
18. Henderson, J. C., and Lee, S. 1992. "Managing I/S Design Teams: A Control Theories Perspective," Management Science (38:6), pp. 757-777.
19. King, W. R., and Torkzadeh, G. 2008. "Information Systems Offshoring: Research Status and Issues," MIS Quarterly (32:2), pp. 205-225.
20. Kirsch, L. J. 1996. "The Management of Complex Tasks in Organizations: Controlling the Systems Development Process," Organization Science (7:1), pp. 1-21.
21. Kirsch, L. J. 1997. "Portfolios of Control Modes and IS Project Management," Information Systems Research (8:3), pp. 215-239.
22. Kirsch, L. J. 2004. "Deploying Common Systems Globally: The Dynamics of Control," Information Systems Research (15:4), pp. 374-395.
23. Koh, C., Ang, S., and Straub, D. 2004. "IT Outsourcing Success: A Psychological Contract Perspective," Information Systems Research (15:4), pp. 356-373.
24. Lacity, M., and Willcocks, L. 2012. "Outsourcing Business and I.T. Services: The Evidence of Success, Robust Practices and Contractual Challenges," Legal Information Management (12:01), pp. 2-8.
25. Langley, A. 1999. "Strategies for Theorizing from Process Data," Academy of Management Review (24:4), pp. 691-710.
26. Lee, A. S., and Baskerville, R. L. 2003. "Generalizing Generalizability in Information Systems Research," Information Systems Research (14:3), pp. 221-243.
27. Lempert, L. B. 2007. "Asking Questions of the Data: Memo Writing in the Grounded Theory Tradition," in The Sage Handbook of Grounded Theory, A. Bryant and K. Charmaz (eds.)., London: Sage Publications, pp. 245-264.
28. Levina, N., and Vaast, E. 2008. "Innovating or Doing as Told? Status Differences and Overlapping Boundaries in Offshore Collaboration," MIS Quarterly (32:2), pp. 307-332.
29. Long, C. P., and Sitkin, S. B. 2006. "Trust in the Balance: How Managers Integrate Trust-Building and Task Control," in Handbook of Trust Research, R. Bachmann and A. Zaheer (eds.), Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, pp. 87-106.
30. Maruping, L. M., Venkatesh, V., and Agarwal, R. 2009. "A Control Theory Perspective on Agile Methodology Use and Changing User Requirements," Information Systems Research (20:3), pp. 377-399.
31. Mingers, J. 2001. "Combining Is Research Methods: Towards a Pluralist Methodology," Information Systems Research (12:3), pp. 240-259.
32. Mingers, J. 2004. "Real-Izing Information Systems: Critical Realism as an Underpinning Philosophy for Information Systems," Information and Organization (14:2), pp. 87-103.
33. Mohr, L. B. 1982. Explaining Organizational Behavior, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
34. Ouchi, W. G. 1977. "The Relationship Between Organizational Structure and Organizational Control," Administrative Science Quarterly (22:1), pp. 95-113.
35. Ouchi, W. G. 1979. "A Conceptual Framework for the Design of Organizational Control Mechanisms," Management Science (25:9), pp. 833-848.
36. Ouchi, W. G., and Maguire, M. A. 1975. "Organizational Control: Two Functions," Administrative Science Quarterly (20:4), pp. 559-569.
37. Rai, A., Maruping, L. M., and Venkatesh, V. 2009. "Offshore Information Systems Project Success: The Role of Social Embeddedness and Cultural Characteristics," MIS Quarterly (33:3), pp. 617-641.
38. Rustagi, S., King, W. R., and Kirsch, L. J. 2008. "Predictors of Formal Control Usage in IT Outsourcing Partnerships," Information Systems Research (19:2), pp. 126-143.
39. Sabherwal, R. 1999. "The Role of Trust in Outsourced IS Development Projects," Communications of the ACM (42:2), pp. 80-86.
40. Sarker, S., and Sarker, S. 2009. "Exploring Agility in Distributed Information Systems Development Teams: An Interpretive Study in an Offshoring Context," Information Systems Research (20:3), pp. 440-461.
41. Sitkin, S. B., Cardinal, L. B., and Bijlsma-Frankema, K. 2010. Organizational Control, New York: Cambridge University Press.
42. Smith, W. K., and Lewis, M. W. 2011. "Toward a Theory of Paradox: A Dynamic Equilibrium Model of Organizing," Academy of Management Review (36:2), pp. 381-403.
43. Sundaramurthy, C., and Lewis, M. 2003. "Control and Collaboration: Paradoxes of Governance," The Academy of Management Review (28:3), pp. 397-415.
44. Tiwana, A. 2008. "Does Technological Modularity Substitute for Control? A Study of Alliance Performance in Software Outsourcing," Strategic Management Journal (29:7), pp. 769-780.
45. Tiwana, A. 2010. "Systems Development Ambidexterity: Explaining the Complementary and Substitutive Roles of Formal and Informal Controls," Journal of Management Information Systems (27:2), pp. 87-126.
46. Tiwana, A., and Keil, M. 2007. "Does Peripheral Knowledge Complement Control? An Empirical Test in Technology Outsourcing Alliances," Strategic Management Journal (28:6), pp. 623-634.
47. Tiwana, A., and Keil, M. 2009. "Control in Internal and Outsourced Software Projects," Journal of Management Information Systems (26:3), pp. 9-44.
48. Urquhart, C. 2001. "An Encounter with Grounded Theory: Tackling the Practical and Philosophical Issues," in Qualitative Research in IS: Issues and Trends, E. Trauth (ed.), Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing, pp. 104-140.
49. Urquhart, C. 2007. "The Evolving Nature of Grounded Theory Method: The Case of the Information Systems Discipline," in The Sage Handbook of Grounded Theory, A. Bryant and K. Charmaz (eds.), London: Sage Publications, pp. 339-359.
50. Urquhart, C., Lehmann, H., and Myers, M. 2010. "Putting the 'Theory' Back into Grounded Theory: Guidelines for Grounded Theory Studies in Information Systems," Information Systems Journal (20:4), pp. 357-381.
51. Van de Ven, A. H. 2007. Engaged Scholarship: A Guide for Organizational and Social Research, New York: Oxford University Press.
52. Vlaar, P. W. L., van Fenema, P. C., and Tiwari, V. 2008. "Cocreating Understanding and Value in Distributed Work: How Members of Onsite and Offshore Vendor Teams Give, Make, Demand, and Break Sense," MIS Quarterly (32:2), pp. 227-255.
53. Walsham, G., and Sahay, S. 1999. "GIS for District-Level Administration in India: Problems and Opportunities," MIS Quarterly (23:1), pp. 39-65.
54. Wynn, D. J., and Williams, C. K. 2012. "Principles for Conducting Critical Realist Case Study Research in Information Systems," MIS Quarterly (36:3), pp. 787-810.
55. Yin, R. 2003. Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.