An investigation of factors that influence the duration of IT outsourcing relationships

• DOI: 10.1016/j.dss.2006.05.007
• Publication Date: 2006-07-30T06:01:00Z
• Authors: Jahyun Goo; Rajiv Kishore; Kichan Nam; H. Raghav Rao; Yongil Song
• Keywords: Ex-ante

Past studies in the IT outsourcing area have examined the management of IT outsourcing relationships from a variety of perspectives. The present paper extends this line of research. In this study, we take a multi-theoretic perspective to explore factors that determine the duration of continuing IT outsourcing relationships between vendor and client firms. Five ex-ante and two ex-post factors that may influence relationship duration were examined in this study. Data for this study were collected using a nationwide survey. To investigate the dynamics of continuing outsourcing relationships through repetitive contracts, we performed survival analysis using an accelerated failure-time (AFT) model. Four factors are found to have a significant relationship with relationship duration as hypothesized. However, three factors, of which two are ex-post factors, are found to not have a significant impact on outsourcing relationship duration. Implications and contributions of the study are discussed.