A Contingency Fit Between Client IT Capability and Vendor Competence in IS Outsourcing Relationship

This study develops a contingency fit between client IT capability and vendor competence in IS outsourcing relationship by integrating both the contingency theory in organization and the relationship theory in IS outsourcing. By adopting a fit as a moderation, the relationship intensity of IS outsourcing is hypothesized to be influenced by the fit between client IT capability and vendor competence, thereby leading to the success of outsourcing. The testing data was obtained from 20 IS outsourcing projects from both clients and vendors in Korea. The research model proposed in this study was then tested using the structural equation model (SEM). As expected, the result shows that when there is a fit between client IT capability and vendor competence, higher level of relationship intensity and outsourcing success exhibits. The findings have significant impactions for further research and practice.