From Producer to Purchaser of IT Services : Interactional Knowledge

• Several researchers have sought to establish the drivers behind and effects of outsourcing on organizations (nations and economies at large). Less research, however, has concerned itself with the changing role that firms go through—from a producer of information technology services to a purchaser of those services—and the form of knowledge that this new role requires. The present paper describes this process of going from consumer to purchaser of information technology services, focusing on the form of knowledge that emerges in this process. As an illustration, the paper draws on case study material gleaned from four firms that have outsourced parts or all of their information technology activities. Becoming a purchaser, it is found, presupposes the development of “interactional knowledge”. Interactional knowledge or expertise involves a new language related to standardized monitoring performance and quality measurements, detailed contracts in the form of service level agreements—all of which facilitate communication, enable exchange, reduce transaction costs, and give birth to a new market. Several questions concerning the effects of outsourcing on firms can be revisited, and new research directions are suggested.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

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