Mapping the IT outsourcing landscape : Review and future directions

During the past 20 years, a rich but diverse body of theoretical and empirical work has accumulated on information technology outsourcing (ITO). Researchers have studied ITO from over 20 theoretical perspectives - including theories from economics (e.g., Transaction Cost Economics, Agency Theory), strategy (e.g., Resource-Based View, Resource Dependency Theory), sociology (e.g., Relational Exchange Theory, Social Capital Theory, Innovation Diffusion) and natural sciences (e.g., Punctuated Equilibrium Theory) (Barney, 1991; Eisenhardt, 1989; Ekeh, 1974; Gould and Eldredge, 1977; Nahapiet and Ghosal, 1998; Pfeffer and Salancik, 1978; Rogers, 1983; Williamson, 1991). By appropriating so many theories, researchers have tested a large number of relationships between independent and dependent variables. Because of this diversity, findings from the overall body of empirical ITO literature have been difficult to summarize, analyse, and evaluate succinctly.