Title
Forced Coopetition In It Multi-Sourcing
Keywords
Critical enablers; Forced coopetition; IT multi-sourcing; Multi-sourcing models; Vendor competition; Vendor cooperation
Abstract
IT multi-sourcing refers to the managed delegation of IT projects and services to multiple vendors. While companies increasingly engage in multi-sourcing arrangements, theoretical insights into this important phenomenon are scarce. Drawing on the coopetition and multi-sourcing literatures, we introduce the concept of forced coopetition (i.e., the situation where a third party forces competitors to cooperate) to describe the vendor relationships in IT multi-sourcing models. As an illustration, we present the case of a global sports company that recently introduced a novel IT multi-sourcing model, which is characterized by high levels of both vendor competition and cooperation, i.e., high levels of forced coopetition. Based on a longitudinal case study, we discuss the factors that enabled the client firm to (1) foster vendor competition and cooperation as well as (2) manage the delicate balance between the two. Specifically, we find that vendor number and size, vendor onboarding, vendor business growth, and vendor learning played a critical role in the successful implementation of the multi-sourcing model. The study's main contributions lie in providing a deeper understanding of how client firms can manage the delicate balance between vendor competition and cooperation in IT multi-sourcing, as well as expanding the theoretical basis of traditional coopetition to include situations of forced coopetition.
Publication Date
9-1-2014
Publication Title
Journal of Strategic Information Systems
Volume
23
Issue
3
Number of Pages
210-225
Document Type
Article
Personal Identifier
scopus
DOI Link
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2014.08.001
Copyright Status
Unknown
Socpus ID
84908026012 (Scopus)
Source API URL
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84908026012
STARS Citation
Wiener, Martin and Saunders, Carol, "Forced Coopetition In It Multi-Sourcing" (2014). Scopus Export 2010-2014. 7989.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/scopus2010/7989