A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• Information Technology Outsourcing in Large Companies in Sweden

  2017. Georg Hodosi, Lazar Rusu, Björn Johansson.

  Thesis (Doc)

  This thesis investigates large private companies in Sweden that have outsourced their information technology (IT). A considerable proportion of IT outsourcing (ITO) is unsuccessful. For IT service buyers, this could cause IT that does not fully work, entailing problems with the network, application, infrastructure and security, with serious consequences such as a loss of customers’ confidence and significantly increased costs. Therefore, the main research goal was to analyse and define ways to improve ITO for buyer organizations. This main research goal was accomplished through three research goals that are the followings: 1) To develop a method for risk assessment in IT outsourcing; 2) To identify the important factors in IT outsourcing relationship; and 3) To identify the success factors in IT outsourcing.                      

  The research strategies applied in conducting this research were design science research and survey research. To achieve the first research goal, a method was developed for assessing the ITO risks, including support for mitigating these risks. This method could help both researchers and practitioners in estimating the ITO risks and in this way improve ITO. An application based on the developed method was used to facilitate the testing of this method by several ITO decision makers in large companies concerning its usability, correctness and functionality. Moreover, a study was performed to explore ITO decision makers’ acceptance of the developed method and their use of it for assessing the ITO risks.            

  The second research goal investigated how to improve service buyers’ ITO relationship with their providers. A well-working ITO relationship is a critical determinant of successful ITO and is relevant to the whole ITO life cycle. This research goal was achieved by identifying and analysing the most important factors in ITO relationships, including a prioritized list of those factors that are highly recommended for use in creating and maintaining a good ITO relationship.                      

  The third research goal examined how to improve ITO by identifying and prioritizing the success factors (SFs) in ITO. This research identified the ITO SFs in large companies and provided a prioritized list of them to be applied in these companies with a description of the value that they could create from implementation during the ITO life cycle. Moreover, the SFs identified in large companies were compared with those identified in medium-sized companies, which could give an indication to the researchers in this field that company size matters in regard to the implementation order of the identified SFs.              

  In summary, the research presented in this thesis contributes with: 1) a method for assessing the risks of outsourcing IT and, in the case that IT has been outsourced, suggested ways to mitigate them; 2) the important factors that could improve ITO relationships and 3) a prioritized list of success factors that could improve IT outsourcing.

  Read more about Information Technology Outsourcing in Large Companies in Sweden

• IT Outsourcing Success Factors

  2015. Georg Hodosi, Robert Kaye, Lazar Rusu. Modern Techniques for Successful IT Project Management, 183-199

  Chapter

  In this chapter, the Success Factors (SFs) for IT Outsourcing (ITO) are explored. The research literature has a bias towards large companies, neglecting medium-sized companies. Moreover, no comparative studies regarding the SFs were found related to the size of companies. These circumstances force medium-sized buyers to turn to practitioner literature, which is dominated by guidelines produced by the providers. Therefore, this chapter identifies the research problem: the lack of knowledge about ITO SFs for medium size companies, including whether SFs for large companies, are applicable for medium-sized ones as well. The used case study research shows that medium-sized companies should use the SFs from large companies. However, 2 out of 11 studied SFs have better efficiency for large companies. This result helps medium-sized companies' ITO decision makers understand the SFs of ITO and thus closes the research gap. Implementing the right SFs should improve the ITO performance.

  Read more about IT Outsourcing Success Factors

• How Do Critical Success Factors Contribute to a Successful IT Outsourcing

  2013. Georg Hodosi, Lazar Rusu. Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application 14 (1), 17-43

  Article

  The increasing competition on the market means that multinational companies (MNCs) as well as many otherorganizations must take advantage of business improvements. This research addresses the critical success factors(CSFs) for the service receiver of IT outsourcing (ITO). It delivers a limited number CSFs that, with a correctimplementation, can deliver favorable results that are necessary for an efficient ITO. These 11 CSFs, are describedin detail, and a critical study is performed to identify the value they could create. In addition, the way theimplementation of the provided CSF could mitigate the ITO risk has been analyzed using transaction cost theory. Apriority list describing the order in which the CSFs should be implemented has been developed and enhanced with arecommendation as to when in the ITO life cycle each CSF should be implemented. A case study research with twoMNCs with more than 20 years’ experience in ITO has been used to prove the results.

  Read more about How Do Critical Success Factors Contribute to a Successful IT Outsourcing

• Key Factors in Managing IT Outsourcing Relationships

  2013. Hari Nugroho (et al.). Information Systems, E-learning, and Knowledge Management Research

  Conference

  Relationship management in IT Outsourcing (ITO) is today an important concern in many organizations. In the review of research literature regarding relationship management in IT outsourcing we have found a lot research on best practices but not on key factors. Therefore our research goal has looked to find the key factors in managing IT outsourcing relationships that are including the best practices in ITO relationships. The results of this research has due to a list of six key factors that includes the best practices that were elicited from the IT outsourcing relationships research and which were applied in the case of three organizations in Sweden. The analysis of the results has shown both deviations as well as compliances between the theory and practices, but also deviations between the views of these key factors in the studied organizations.

  Read more about Key Factors in Managing IT Outsourcing Relationships

• Risk Factors in IT Outsourcing and the Theories Decision Makers Use to Resolve Them

  2013. Georg Hodosi, Sanaz Manavi, Lazar Rusu. International Journal of Social and Organizational Dynamics in IT (IJSODIT) 3 (2), 41-54

  Article

  In this paper the Risk Factors (RFs) in IT Outsourcing (ITO) theories from a service buyer perspective are explored. A comparative study about how Transaction Cost Theory (TCT), Core Competency Theory (CCT) and Agency Theory (AT) cover the RFs has been performed. A framework describing, how the theories cover the RFs has been developed and tested using a case study research methodology. The interviews with companies for testing the framework have been used to get an indication about which ITO theories the decision makers are using in their ITO. This study shows that TCT fully covers all RFs, AT covers almost all and CCT has the lowest coverage. The theories, which are used by the ITO decision makers, could only partially be answered. Risk handling could not be entirely mapped to the theories. Risk and risk mitigation were the main concerns for some of the interviewees, CCT for some others. This study recommends using both TCT and CCT for a successful ITO.

  Read more about Risk Factors in IT Outsourcing and the Theories Decision Makers Use to Resolve Them

• A Risk Based View of Influential Factors in IT Outsourcing Relationship for Large Multinational Companies

  2012. Georg Hodosi, Lazar Rusu, Seungho Choo. IInternational Journal of Social and Organizational Dynamics in IT (IJSODIT) 2 (3), 29-47

  Article

  Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) is well spread among large Multinational Companies (MNCs) in Europe, and it is expected to increase even more. The authors’ focus is the service buyer company who needs a well working relation with its ITO supplier for handling emergent issues, daily operation and events that have not been foreseen. In the last years, an increasing attention has been paid to improve ITO relationship. Reviewing the research literature, they have not found any studies about Influential Factors (IFs) that could improve the ITO relationship, nor, how risk factors are interrelated to ITO relationship. Therefore, the authors address this issue by providing 15 IFs that could improve the ITO relationship for large MNCs and their providers and could help the service buyers companies’ to concentrate on these IFs. Additionally, the authors developed a framework that could support the ITO decision makers in both mitigating the risks and improving the ITO relationship.

  Read more about A Risk Based View of Influential Factors in IT Outsourcing Relationship for Large Multinational Companies

• Assessing the risk exposure in IT outsourcing for large companies

  2011. Lazar Rusu, Georg Hodosi. International Journal of Information Technology and Management 10 (1), 24-44

  Article

  The decision process for companies to outsource information technology (IT) or not is a substantial business change and in many cases the competence to take such decisions is limited and has major consequences for the company's future performance. In this context, the paper is presenting the design of an information technology outsourcing (ITO) tool that includes a procedure based on transaction cost theory (TCT) for assessing the risk exposure in ITO. The ITO tool presented in this paper is a useful and effective instrument for the IT decision-makers in support of decisions to outsource IT or not. In the development of the ITO tool, we have approached two large companies in Sweden with more than 20 years experiences in ITO that helped us in the improvement and evaluation of the usability and effectiveness of this tool.

  Read more about Assessing the risk exposure in IT outsourcing for large companies

• User Acceptance of a Software Tool for Decision Making in IT Outsourcing

  2010. Christoffer Andresen (et al.). Knowledge Management, Information Systems, E-Learning, and Sustainability Research, 277-288

  Conference

  Decisions for IT outsourcing are very complex and needs to be supported by considerations based on many (multiple) criteria. In order to facilitate the use of a specific tool by a decision-maker in IT outsourcing, we need to find out whether such a tool for this purpose will be accepted or rejected or what improvements must be added to this tool to be accepted by some IT decision makers in large companies from Sweden.

  Read more about User Acceptance of a Software Tool for Decision Making in IT Outsourcing

• A Software Tool that Supports Decisions for Companies to Outsource Information Technology or Not

  2007. Georg Hodosi, Lazar Rusu. Proceedings of the Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems - MCIS’07, 69-78

  Conference

  The decision process for companies to outsource information technology (IT) or not is a substantial business change and in many cases the competence to take such decisions is limited and has major consequences for the company future performance. Therefore in the paper we have proposed the development of a software application that can be used in the initial phase for deciding to outsource or not in contrast to the external help with consultants that might have their own interests. In fact the development of a software decision tool (SDT) that is business neutral it could be very usefully for the IT managers in support of the decisions regarding to outsource IT or not. By using this SDT the IT mangers could highlight also some potential risks that have might be hidden by their cost-savings efforts regarding IT outsourcing. On the other hand by using the SDT the IT managers can simulate different situations by changing the parameters and very important can document their decisions regarding outsourcing with more confidence. Additionally, this software tool it might require information that the own evaluation did not considered in the beginning and finally may add vital information to advice the IT managers in different situations. In the development of the SDT in taking the IT outsourcing decisions we have used the generic Transaction Cost Theory (TCE) for evaluation that is adapted to the IT risks according to Aubert et al. (2001) and which gives a qualitative measure of the outsourcing risks. In this context our paper has looked mainly to find answers to the following research questions: (1) is it possible to design such a tool and which decision parameters should be collected, how are those inter-related and how should such a decision tree be built up (2) is it possible to reduce all initially known uncertainties regarding outsourcing and highlight on potential risks? (3) How much trust we could have in such a software tool in order to be really used by the IT managers in decisions regarding IT outsourcing?

  Read more about A Software Tool that Supports Decisions for Companies to Outsource Information Technology or Not

Show all publications by Georg Hodosi at Stockholm University