Knowledge transfer and utilization in IT outsourcing partnerships: A preliminary model of antecedents and outcomes

The impact of knowledge flows on asset specificity from the perspective of open innovation

Purpose

This study aims to examine how different modes of knowledge flows affect the changes of asset specificity and how ownership control moderates the relationship between knowledge flows and asset specificity in the open innovation paradigm.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper selects information technology outsourcing as the research base. It uses the feasible weighted least squares modeling method for its analysis and has collected the data from 2,369 research and development contracts of multinational vendor firms in China.

Findings

The coupled and outbound knowledge flows have a direct and positive effect on asset specificity. Moreover, the results show that weak corporate control has significant moderating effects on the relationship between both coupled and outbound knowledge flows and asset specificity; the strong control positively moderates the relationship between outbound knowledge flows and asset specificity.

Practical implications

In open innovation, firms build a higher degree of asset specificity to maximize the efficiency of knowledge flows, which then helps them to enhance innovation capacity and market performance.

Originality/value

Preceding studies have tended to examine the influences of asset specificity as an independent variable in a closed innovation paradigm. Asset specificity is hence often left as the antecedent “black box.” This paper, however, opens the “black box” of asset specificity, which is set as a dependent variable, by investigating the influences of knowledge flows on the asset specificity in the context of open innovation. It also reinterprets the role of asset specificity by adopting the lens of open innovation theory.

Knowledge sharing as a give-and-take practice: the role of the knowledge receiver in the knowledge-sharing process

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether openness to receive and openness to share knowledge drive employees to share knowledge with colleagues in the workplace. The authors also investigate what, if any, influence knowledge sharing has on performance at both individual and work unit levels.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 237 employees from eight banks in Kuwait. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The knowledge receiver’s openness to receive and openness to share knowledge influence the provider’s knowledge-sharing behavior. The latter positively affects the provider’s job performance and the work unit’s innovation performance. Furthermore, knowledge utilization strengthens knowledge sharing’s positive effect on work unit innovation.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study are industry and country specific and, therefore, would likely not be applicable to other settings. Thus, similar future research targeting different industries and/or countries is warranted. As a cross-sectional study, this research can also benefit from subsequent longitudinal studies.

Practical implications

Organizations should create a culture conducive to sharing knowledge. For example, managers should assure employees that knowledge shared with coworkers will be well received and utilized, remove barriers to new knowledge utilization and create awareness among employees that sharing knowledge benefits knowledge providers as well as knowledge providers.

Originality/value

The authors provide evidence of how the knowledge receiver’s openness to receive and to share knowledge affect the provider’s knowledge sharing. The authors also provide insights into how knowledge sharing drives job performance and innovation.

The Impact of the Organizational Culture on Hotel Outsourcing and Sustainable Performance an Empirical Application in the Egyptian Hotel Sector

In recent years, the concept of an organizational culture in hotels has held an important position on both a theoretical and practical level because this culture significantly affects organizational performance and the strategies adopted by hotels. Therefore, it is considered one of the key factors in determining hotels’ tendency towards outsourcing and sustainable performance. In this study, we aim to analyze the impact of the organizational culture on the level of outsourcing and sustainable performance. To do so, we will use the Competing Values Framework (CVF), which divides organizational culture into four typologies: hierarchical, group, rational, and development cultures. A personal questionnaire was administered to the directors or managers of 114 hotels located in two Egyptian cities: Hurgada and Sharm El Sheikh. The results of the structural model suggest the negative impact of the hierarchical and development cultures on the level of outsourcing. The results show a positive influence of the four types of organizational culture on sustainable performance, suggesting that these hotels have a strong interest in sustainability and the environment. The findings reveal a negative relationship between the level of outsourcing and sustainable performance. Finally, this study presents academic and practical implications, as well as recommendations for future research.

IT outsourcing, knowledge transfer and project transition phases

Purpose

The purpose of this research was to uncover perceptions of information technology outsourcing (ITO) project leaders and project teams regarding knowledge transfer between client and vendor partners during opening and closing transition phases of ITO projects.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative methods and exploratory case study design were used. Purposeful sampling was used to identify ITO knowledge assets including project team members and organizational documents and artifacts that may provide information regarding the knowledge transfer processes during the transition phases of the ITO project. Sample criteria were ITO project team members from one US-based client organization and the company’s international vendor partners. The study population included project managers, analyst, developers, subject matter experts (SMEs) and other ITO knowledge workers involved in the ITO project from one US-based organization. Interview and document analysis were done using of NVivo Pro 11®research software.

Findings

Four themes emerged from participant responses relative to the opening and closing phases of ITO projects including KT approaches to plans and processes; KT dependencies relative to IT project team member’s reliance on project tools, processes and artifacts; determinants of KT success or failure relative to project team members’ perceptions; and role of documentation relative to communication and distribution of KT outcomes.

Originality/value

This research may provide insights into additional aspects of knowledge transfer during ITO transition phases, which may be used by IT leaders and project teams to plan for successful knowledge transfer during the transition phases of ITO projects.

Perspective-varying effects of peripheral knowledge in IT outsourcing: when vendor and client are collated

Purpose

This study aims to examine how the role of peripheral knowledge changes along with the perspectives of vendor and client in inter-organizational IT outsourcing. To this end, this study tests the effects of the peripheral knowledge of vendors and clients on IT outsourcing performance under three different combinations of performance-assessing views from both parties.

Design/methodology/approach

To contrast the effects of the peripheral knowledge of vendors and clients based on their views, this study collects matching data on 107 projects from both parties. The survey method is adopted to measure the peripheral knowledge levels of vendors and clients and IT outsourcing success. The associations between peripheral knowledge and IT outsourcing performance are then assessed when the views match, cross and agree to a certain level.

Findings

The peripheral knowledge of vendors plays a more significant role than that of clients in most IT outsourcing cases. Moreover, the agreement between the peripheral knowledge of vendors and clients shows a moderating effect only when the performance is assessed by clients than by vendors.

Originality/value

This study contrasts the peripheral knowledge of vendors and clients by altering performance-assessing views in IT outsourcing. This study also rationalizes why the peripheral knowledge of vendors is more important than that of clients, as well as explains whose perspective is more significant when the performance is assessed.

Organizational Performance and Sustainability: Exploring the Roles of IT Capabilities and Knowledge Management Capabilities

This study explores the effects of organizational information technology (IT) capability in determining organizational performance and sustainable competitive advantage. Building on the resource-based and knowledge-based views of a firm, the study proposes a theoretical framework. In this framework, organizational IT capability is theorized to strengthen organizational performance and sustainable competitive advantage, directly and indirectly, through organizational knowledge management capabilities. Data collected from the middle and senior managers of diverse organizations in an emerging economy have been used to test the relationships in the framework. To estimate the proposed relationships in the conceptual model, we use structural equation modeling through SmartPLS 3.2. The results confirm that organizational IT capability significantly impacts organizational performance and sustainable competitive advantage. Additionally, organizational knowledge management capabilities partially mediate the relationship between IT capability and the outcomes (i.e., organizational performance and sustainable competitive advantage). The study concludes with a discussion of the implications for academicians and managers.

Promoting uncommon use of knowledge in information system departments

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to gain a clear understanding of the impact of uncommon use of knowledge (adaptation and augmentation) on the performance of information systems (IS) departments, and to explore the effects of human-resources management (HRM) practices on uncommon use of knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire-based survey was used to measure the constructs of the research model. A survey package was delivered to project managers or team leads and 133 responses were returned.

Findings

The empirical results indicate that knowledge adaptation has a significant effect on departmental performance, whereas knowledge augmentation is more important to innovation than to routine departmental performance. The results also show that, while knowledge adaptation can be enhanced by communication and an uncertainty-avoidance culture, knowledge augmentation is an outcome of shared decision-making, the use of teams, and innovation-based policies.

Research limitations/implications

Given the positive impact of uncommon use of knowledge on IS department performance, future research should explore other factors besides HRM practices to boost it.

Practical implications

The results can serve as guidance for managers looking to select HRM practices to promote uncommon use of knowledge.

Originality/value

This study introduces knowledge adaptation and knowledge augmentation as the component processes of uncommon use of knowledge to the IS discipline, and empirically validates the antecedents and consequences of uncommon use of knowledge using survey data.

Relationship or contract? Exploring the key factor leading to IT outsourcing success in China

Purpose

– Effective management of IT outsourcing continues to be a challenge to organizations today. Organizations in China suffer from even bigger problems than other regions of the world. The IT outsourcing market is in its infancy and the outsourcing practice is still at its initial stage. Regarding to the outsourcing management issues, the literature has explored the role of either the relationship or contract in governing IT outsourcing success. However, few efforts have been paid to investigate the effects of both relationship and contract on IT outsourcing success from a holistic view. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study develops a conceptual model and empirically tests it through a cross-sectional survey conducted in five big cities of Mainland China.

Findings

– The data analysis results identified the dimensionalities of relationship, contract and IT outsourcing success and proved the causal relationships between these three constructs.

Originality/value

– This research re-emphasizes the importance of relationship in IT outsourcing success and the fundamental role of contract in developing a sound relationship. It also gives some implications on how to evaluate IT outsourcing success in China, an emerging market for IT outsourcing.