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Theoretical Perspectives on the Outsourcing of Information Systems

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Outsourcing and Offshoring Business Services

Abstract

Critics have argued that the field of information systems (IS) lacks a coherent theoretical framework. This paper attempts to further the theoretical development of a critical and pervasive contemporary phenomenon, outsourcing of IS functions, by synthesizing four theoretical models (resource-based theory, resource-dependence theory, transaction cost theory and agency theory) that are useful for understanding determinants of a firm’s outsourcing strategy. From these theoretical models, a contingency model of outsourcing is developed which can be used to direct empirical research.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Business Administration, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, Korea

    Myun J. Creon

  2. Management Science Department, University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA

    Varun Grover & James T.C. Teng

Authors
  1. Myun J. Creon
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  2. Varun Grover
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  3. James T.C. Teng
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Varun Grover .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, London School of Economics, London, United Kingdom

    Leslie P. Willcocks

  2. College of Business Administration, University of Missouri, SAINT LOUIS, Missouri, USA

    Mary C. Lacity

  3. University of Oxford , Oxford, United Kingdom

    Chris Sauer

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Creon, M.J., Grover, V., Teng, J.T. (2017). Theoretical Perspectives on the Outsourcing of Information Systems. In: Willcocks, L., Lacity, M., Sauer, C. (eds) Outsourcing and Offshoring Business Services. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52651-5_2

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