Mary C. Lacity - The Practice of Outsourcing: From Information Systems to BPO and Offshoring

Willcocks and Lacity have been studying and reporting on outsourcing for more than 19 years, and with clarity unmatched by others. This new book reinforces their earlier work outsourcing can produce great results but only when outsourcing professionals ensure great execution. Michael Corbett, Executive Director, International Association of Outsourcing Professionals

A compelling narrative of personal and professional discovery packed with 20 years of insight and wisdom. Essential reading for students and practitioners at any stage of their career. Willcocks and Lacity are at the top of their game. Dr. John Hindle, Outsourcing Research Lead, Accenture

The leading researchers on IT and business process outsourcing have collected, updated, and extended some of the most insightful work written on the topic. This and its companion volume Information Systems and Outsourcing form a treasure trove of outsourcing knowledge for both academics and practitioners. Jeanne W. Ross, Director and Principal Research Scientist MIT Center for Information Systems Research, Sloan School of Management

Lacity and Willcocks have enriched us with two decades of extensive research and prolific publications that they build upon in this book. The articles and chapters are written by the co-authors and other highly experienced contributors, who masterfully articulate and integrate outsourcing methodologies, successes, failures, opportunities, trends and lessons learned. The book paints an integral global picture for our time. Readers with no prior outsourcing experience are likely to irrevocably transform their world view, while outsourcing veterans will gain valuable new insights and a broader perspective. Both are destined to forever view the world through a multi-cultural, global lens. Wendell Jones, Former VP, Compaq, SVP, NASD/NASDAQ, and outsourcing pioneer

Well written, thought provoking and directive. By drawing on their unique research base, Willcocks and Lacity provide insight into the development and future of outsourcing which would otherwise take practitioners and academics many years of learning to acquire. This book and its companion volume are essential reading for unlocking and understanding the complex business of sourcing. Simon Ormston, Head of Strategic Sourcing Propositions and Marketing, BT Global Services

Willcocks and Lacity have assembled and participated with a team of pre-eminent scholars and renowned leaders in IT outsourcing and offshoring to provide a clear and comprehensive practical perspective on a subject that is on everyones mind, but few truly completely understand. Thoughtful managers and executives will find the ideas in this book insightful. Willcocks and Lacity make a significant contribution to our ability to derive and leverage an effective IT sourcing portfolio. Jerry Luftman, Executive Director and Distinguished Professor, Stevens Institute of Technology

Also By Mary C. Lacity and Leslie P. Willcocks

INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND OUTSOURCING
Studies in Theory and Practice

GLOBAL SOURCING OF BUSINESS AND IT SERVICES

Also By Leslie Willcocks

OUTSOURCING GLOBAL SERVICES
Knowledge, Innovation and Social Capital (with llan Oshri and Julia Kotlarsky)

Also By Mary C. Lacity

OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING OF IT WORK
Client and Supplier Perspectives (with Joseph Rottman)

From Information Systems to BPO and Offshoring

Leslie P. Willcocks
London School of Economics and Political Science

and

Mary C. Lacity
University of Missouri, St. Louis

Selection and editiorial content Leslie P. Willcocks and Mary C. Lacity 2009 Individual Chapters Contributors 2009

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.

Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published 2009 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN

Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.

Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martins Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world.

Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries

ISBN-13: 978-0-230-20541-3 hardback
ISBN-10: 0-230-20541-0 hardback

This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The practice of outsourcing : from information systems to BPO and offshoring / [edited] by Leslie P. Willcocks and Mary C. Lacity.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 9780230205413 (alk. paper)

1. Contracting out. 2. Offshore outsourcing. I. Willcocks, Leslie.

II. Lacity, Mary Cecelia.

HD2365.O9423 2009
658.4058dc22 2009013658

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09

Printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne

Leslie P. Willcocks is Professor of Technology Work and Globalization at the London School of Economics and Political Science, head of the Information Systems and Innovation group and director of The Outsourcing Unit there. He is known for his work on global sourcing, information management, IT evaluation, e-business, organizational transformation as well as for his practitioner contributions to many corporations and government agencies. He holds visiting chairs at Erasmus, Melbourne and Sydney universities and is Associate Fellow at Green Templeton College, University of Oxford. He has been for the last 18 years co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Information Technology, and is joint series editor, with Mary Lacity, of the Palgrave Series Technology, Work, and Globalisation. He has co-authored 32 books, including most recently Major Currents in the IS Field (2008 6 volumes), and Global Sourcing of Business and IT Services (2006). He has published over 180 refereed papers in journals such as Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, MIS Quarterly, MISQ Executive, Journal of Management Studies, Communications of the ACM,and Journal of Strategic Information Systems.