Offshore Information Systems Project Success: The Role of Social Embeddedness and Cultural Characteristics

Abstract

Agency theory has served as a key basis for identifying drivers of offshore information system project success. Consequently

Project Managers' Practical Intelligence and Project Performance in Software Offshore Outsourcing: A Field Study

“…Second, our study makes a significant contribution to the literature on offshore outsourcing, which has examined the effects of contract type and contractual governance mechanisms, transaction cost economies, and principal agent models on project outcomes (e.g., Gopal et al 2003), but does not substantiate the central role played by PMs in ensuring the success of such initiatives. Recent research has explored cultural and social leadership aspects of PMs in the context of software outsourcing, but has found relatively little empirical support on how these aspects impact project outcomes (Rai et al 2009, Chua et al 2012 and rigorous empirical analysis, we identify a factor (PMs' PI) that, after controlling for contractual, process, and other project attributes, contributes significantly to project performance in this setting.…”

“…364-384, © 2014 INFORMS Our study makes significant contributions to the literature on project management, which often takes a "universalist" perspective and focuses on best practices to be applied across projects (e.g., Shenhar 2001, Harter et al 2000, Kirsch et al 2002, Gopal et al 2002, Wallace et al 2004, Project Management Institute 2008, Napier et al 2009). We extend this literature by (i) introducing and conceptualizing PI as an important capability for PMs that helps in resolving incidents that are situational and embedded in a particular project context; (ii) providing compelling empirical evidence that PMs' PI is efficacious in improving objective measures of project performance, unlike prior studies of PM capabilities that have been limited to conceptual arguments (Napier et al 2009) or have found little empirical support (Rai et al 2009);and (iii) identifying characteristics of the project context-to wit, complexity, and familiaritythat moderate the effect of PMs' PI on project outcomes (Venkatraman 1989, Shenhar 2001. We also contribute to the literature on offshore outsourcing, which has examined issues such as contracting inefficiencies, but has not often considered PMs' contribution to project performance.…”

“…In particular, this literature considers the optimal contract choices under various constraints (Gopal et al 2003, Gopal and Sivaramakrishnan 2008, Kern and Willcocks 2000 and the role of various contract governance mechanisms and contracting structures (Chen andBharadwaj 2009, Susarla 2012) in ensuring successful outcomes. Prior studies also stress the importance of relational governance Zenger 1998, 2002;Rai et al 2009), control mechanisms (Kirsch 1997, Kirsch et al 2002, Gopal and Gosain 2010, Chua et al 2012, and cultural differences (Levina andVaast 2008, Ang andInkpen 2008).…”

“…Similarly, when the client is new and unfamiliar, PMs use PI to resolve the critical incidents that arise because of this information gap by considering a wider range of possible client reactions, paying particular attention to initial client interactions, and being aware of client needs and procedures that may require unusual solutions. For a particular problem, PMs should draw upon PI to facilitate cross-boundary interaction and joint problem solving (Rai et al 2009). On the other hand, in a project in which stakeholder familiarity is high, there may be a greater shared understanding of what the project is supposed to accomplish and stakeholders can rely upon their familiarity to interact and coordinate more effectively.…”

“…Our study focuses on cost performance and client satisfaction (Rai et al 2009). 4 Cost performance is measured as the actual costs incurred by the project.…”