Conclusion

Abstract

The objective of this research was to find answers to the question why organizations behave so different in IS sourcing. More specifically, the sourcing of two IS functions was addressed: the development and maintenance of software applications. In order to understand the reasons and wider implications of the sourcing decision of these two IS functions, a multi-theoretical framework was developed. It considered the economic, strategic, and social dimension of the IS sourcing decision by integrating concepts from transaction cost theory, resource-based theory, incomplete contracts theory, the theory of planned behavior, and cross-cultural research into a coherent whole. The framework was specified in a research model and empirically tested based on the sourcing decisions of 180 Finance and Machinery organizations in the USA and Germany.