This book is unique in that it does not simply discuss an author's practitioner experience or present a summary of academic research on what makes projects succeed. Rather, this book does not hide the real complexity of the issue and does not attempt to introduce the reader to some elusive nonexistent boilerplate solution. The book does include real world experience and does summarize academic research, but it also treats outsourcing for what it is -- an incredibly complex process. There are however many steps managers can take to understand outsourcing for what it really is and manage this process accordingly. It is this focus on the correct mindset, rather than the methodological steps alone, that makes this book unique, and that is why the title of the book is about outsourcing as an art and philosophy.

"This book balances the positive outcomes of outsourcing, which have made it a popular management strategy with the negative to provide a more inclusive decision; it explores risk factors that have not yet been widely associated with this strategy. It focuses on the conceptual "what", "why", and "where" aspects of outsourcing as well as the methodological "how" aspects"--Provided by publisher.

This book highlights research that contributes to a better understanding of emerging challenges in information systems (IS) outsourcing. Important topics covered include: how to digitally innovate through IS outsourcing; how to govern outsourced digitalization projects; how to cope with complex multi-vendor and micro-services arrangements; how to manage data sourcing and data partnerships, including issues of cybersecurity; and how to cope with the increasing demands of internationalization and new sourcing models, such as crowdsourcing, cloud sourcing and robotic process automation. These issues are approached from the client’s perspective, vendor’s perspective, or both. Given its scope, the book will be of interest to all researchers and students in the fields of Information Systems, Management, and Organization, as well as corporate executives and professionals seeking a more profound analysis of the underlying factors and mechanisms of outsourcing.

Using case studies of 13 companies, examines the intentions, motivations, decision making, outcomes and consequences of information systems outsourcing. Proposes an outsourcing evaluation process.

The question of outsourcing is inherently part of organizing the information systems function of any organization. This book is intended to support organizations that are considering or have chosen to outsource. A model for IS outsourcing decision making is presented that managers can use during analysis of whether outsourcing will be sensible and beneficial for their organization.

Information Systems and Outsourcing covers nearly 20 years of leading theoretical and practical research on IT outsourcing by the two authors and their global network of 11 distinguished contributing authors. The book is organized chronologically to clearly show the evolution of theory and practice over time. The authors comment on which findings remain critically relevant versus which findings have considerably progressed. The book explores how good IT outsourcing theories shape practice and how effective IT outsourcing practices inform theory. The authors stress, through their own empirical work, the importance of critically examining theories borrowed from economics, strategy, and sociology to study IT outsourcing. The practice studies, based on over 500 case studies, explore the decision processes and management practices associated with domestic, offshore, and global sourcing of IT services from both client and supplier perspectives.

This book presents recent research directions that address management in the information economy. The contributors include leading researchers with interests in a diverse set of topics who highlight important areas and point to some important topics for future research. The book begins with perspectives at the level of the economy as a whole and then progressively addresses industrial structure, sectors, functions, and business practices.