Managing Knowledge Transfer in Software-Maintenance Outsourcing Transitions: A System-Dynamics Perspective

Krancher, Oliver; Dibbern, Jens (2014). Managing Knowledge Transfer in Software-Maintenance Outsourcing Transitions: A System-Dynamics Perspective. In: Information Systems Outsourcing: Towards Sustainable Business Value. Progress in IS (pp. 223-243). Heidelberg: Springer

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The existing literature suggests that transitions in software-maintenance offshore outsourcing projects are prone to knowledge transfer blockades, i.e. situations in which the activities that would yield effective knowledge transfer do not occur, and that client management involvement is central to overcome them. However, the theoretical understanding of the knowledge transfer blockade is limited, and the reactive management behavior reported in case studies suggests that practitioners may frequently be astonished by the dynamics that may give rise to the blockade. Drawing on recent research from offshore sourcing and reference theories, this study proposes a system dynamics framework that may explain why knowledge transfer blockades emerge and how and why client management can overcome the blockade. The results suggest that blockades may emerge from a vicious circle of weak learning due to cognitive overload of vendor staff and resulting negative ability attributions that result in reduced helping behavior and thus aggravate cognitive load. Client management may avoid these vicious circles by selecting vendor staff with strong prior related experience. Longer phases of coexistence of vendor staff and subject matter experts and high formal and clan controls may also mitigate vicious circles.

Item Type:

Book Section (Book Chapter)

Division/Institute:

03 Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences > Department of Business Management > Institute of Information Systems
03 Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences > Department of Business Management > Institute of Information Systems > Information Engineering

UniBE Contributor:

Krancher, Oliver Jürgen, Dibbern, Jens

Subjects:

600 Technology > 650 Management & public relations

ISBN:

987-3-662-43819-0

Series:

Progress in IS

Publisher:

Springer

Projects:

[229] IT Outsourcing Governance
[230] Knowledge Transfer in IT Outsourcing

Language:

English

Submitter:

Oliver Jürgen Krancher

Date Deposited:

18 Sep 2014 16:24

Last Modified:

02 Mar 2023 23:25

Additional Information:

4th ed.
Eine weitere ISBN: 978-3-662-43820-6

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Outsourcing, Transition Phase, Knowledge Transfer, Knowledge Management, System Dynamics, Knowledge Transfer Blockade

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.58534

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/58534

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