African Journal of Business Management National culture and organizational capabilities of IT offshoring services in Kenya (original) (raw)
Related papers
National culture and organizational capabilities of IT offshoring services in Kenya
African Journal of Business Management, 2013
The pervasive adoption of outsourced information technology (IT) services has made the multi-billion dollar information technology outsourcing industry become important to individual organizations and governments as well. IT offshoring elevates the importance of country destination where services are outsourced to with increasing attention shifting to offshore destinations in Africa. African countries are emerging as offshore destinations because they are regarded as low cost regions, while the traditional ‘captive’ destinations such as India and China are becoming middle income and thus with increasing cost levels. To examine the influence of organization capability and national cultures in offshoring success, a case study was used and theoretical thematic analysis employed. From the analysis, this study recommends a framework dubbed the renewal, credibility and sensitivity (RCS) framework. The critical dimensions revolve around the need for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms to enhance their capabilities through organizational renewal; countries to enhance their competitiveness through development of their national credibility; while global stakeholders should recognize that there is a need for development of intercultural competence, not only from vendor perspectives, but also from client organizations. The framework recognizes that the key drivers that underlie the development of offshoring success include the need to build organizational capability, positive convergence of country factor conditions and enhancing intercultural competence
A case study of national culture and offshoring services
Purpose -Prior surveys have shown that national culture is a leading cause of problems in offshoring services. The research question posed in this paper centers on how and through what specific decisions national culture affects operational implementation in offshore facilities. Design/methodology/approach -A particular US service process offshored to Barbados and the Dominican Republic is studied. Ethnographic worker observations are combined with archival sources and executive interviews. Findings -A culture clash caused a number of operational dilemmas for a major US airline offshoring the same processes to two Caribbean nations. The offshoring was a success at one site, a failure at another. But, even at the successful site, un-intuitive operational adaptations had to be made to accommodate cultural differences. Specifically, detailed here are decisions or results seen on country selection, location selection within a country, quality program implementation, and shift work that had strong cultural inputs. Research limitations/implications -Any case study may be limited to the specific case. However, broader implications are that operations management decisions may be more highly dependent on national culture than previously thought. Practical implications -Management -especially US management -continue to make service offshoring decisions ignoring or minimizing the inevitable cultural conflict. This work provides tangible examples of decisions affected by culture. Originality/value -Concrete, specific examples are provided for the difficulties national culture created in a specific case. Methods used to circumvent these difficulties are shown. By this specific example, the general case is posited that culture must be considered in operations decisions that may seem devoid of cultural content.
Success in offshoring of application development - does culture matter?
2006
Recently, offshoring of information systems (IS) services to external vendors has seen considerable growth. Outsourcing to vendors in foreign countries brings about unique challenges which need to be understood and managed effectively. This paper explores cultural differences in IS offshoring arrangements involving German client organizations that outsource application development activities to Indian vendors. For this purpose, a research framework is developed based on both theoretical considerations and specific empirical observations from multiple case studies. The goal is to (1) explore the nature of cultural differences in offshoring arrangements in depth and to (2) analyze the relationship between those cultural differences and offshoring success. Based on the case findings, implications and practices for the management of offshore development projects are outlined.
2009
Kenya is preparing itself to enter into the global and vibrant Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and IT Enabled Services (ITES) market. It however lacks empirical evidence and tailored research to guide its policy decisions and investment options. There is demand and specific requests from the government and key stakeholders in the sector for this type of information. This policy brief is a synthesis of a study whose aim was to provide evidence and a deeper understanding of the imperatives for success in this industry to better inform Kenya's policy decisions and investment choices. It was carried out through a case study method to establish the critical success factors in four vendor countries (India, South Africa, Mauritius and Kenya) with relation to the policy, legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks; human resource issues; youth and gender issues; and various forms of incentives. The study also researched on the outsourcing issues in two client countries (UK and USA).
Offshore Outsourcing and Organizational Learning: A Model of Cultural Occlusions
2004
Offshore outsourcing of information technology services is a recent global trend. Organizations may not have considered the impact of outsourcing on their learning capabilities for future competitive competencies. The impact on learning may depend on the national cultures of the client organization and of the offshore outsourcing vendor. A conceptual model of cultural occlusions to organizational learning in IT outsourcing relationships is developed in this paper. Suggested solutions include employing boundary spanners to mitigate of any unfavourable impacts. The cultural occlusions model may inform IT practitioners in an offshore outsourcing relationship, and the IT industry strategy of developing countries offering offshore outsourcing services.
2018
DOI: 10.21276/sjebm.2018.5.10.4 Abstract: This study was purposed to investigate the effects of culture and market pressures on outsourcing performance with specific reference to Yahweh God’s Will Limited in Nigeria. The study was therefore, anchored on four specific research questions which were centred on the extent to which culture affect outsourcing performance of a company, the impacts of market pressures on outsourcing performance, the factors that affect the implementation of outsourcing and the extent to which outsourcing affects Yahweh God’s Will Limited’s performance. Based on these questions, the research employed a pragmatic philosophy to allow the researcher use the method that best suits the situation at the particular point of execution. Also, the research made use of both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods using surveys (questionnaires and interview) to enhance data triangulation. A total of 61 participants were selected for the study while only 58 ...
Information Systems Frontiers, 2008
Offshore outsourcing to vendors in foreign countries causes unique challenges which need to be understood and managed effectively. This paper explores cultural differences in IS offshoring arrangements involving German client organizations that outsource application development activities to Indian vendors. For this purpose, a research framework is developed based on both theoretical considerations and specific empirical observations from multiple case studies. The goal is to (1) explore the nature of cultural differences in offshore outsourcing arrangements in depth and to (2) analyze the relationship between those cultural differences and offshore outsourcing success. Based on the case findings, implications and practices for the management of offshore development projects are outlined. The results indicate that cultural differences in terms of power distance, IS designer values, and an active versus passive working attitude critically affect several dimensions of relationship quality, thereby influencing offshore outsourcing success. A clear definition of roles and mechanisms, strong leadership, and an active management of culture by adapting to either the client's or the vendor's national culture appeared to be effective ways to manage cultural differences.
Strategic Success Factors of Information Technology Outsourcing in Emerging Markets
Nepal Journal of Multidisciplinary Research
Many businesses are collaborating on joint service initiatives in order to cut operational costs and compete for profits. Outsourcing is a cost-reduction strategy used to carry out tasks by service providers or vendors that are typically handled within the company. This research is focused on outsourcing strategies on vendor’s point of view, as many emerging markets continue to struggle to establish a foothold in the international market. The success of IT outsourcing is largely dependent upon the vendor's internal strength, industry-specific environmental factors, and country-specific policies. The respondents were chosen using a snowball sampling technique, and variables were selected from literature review and consulting with industry experts. The survey was conducted within the Kathmandu valley, and quantitative data were collected for the study. Respondents were outsourcing agencies, freelancers, outsourcing consultants and policy makers. The analysis included Structured Eq...
IT Offshore Outsourcing: Contingency and Strategies
2007
This article explores the IT offshore outsourcing phenomena and discusses the predictors of firm's adoption level of offshoring practice. The authors draw on transaction cost economics, culture theories, integrated social contract theory, and institutional theory to examine the offshore outsourcing impetuses and investigate the related research issues. The multitheoretic lens highlights the interactions among firm, supplier, and business environment and suggests the important role of contingency in predicting the firm's strategic response to offshoring which is manifested by the level of offshoring engagement.