IT-Outsourcing maturity How to measure maturity in an outsourcing relationship with focus on the most critical aspects.

Abstract

Thispaper covers an absence in current research, concluding there is a needfor future research to investigate further critical aspects, regarding outsourcing relationship maturity. The research has been carried out based onfour critical aspects of relationship maturity, competence, culture, governance, and security. The key dimensions comprising each critical aspect has been constructed through literature studies comprising well-established maturity models and successful outsourcing practices to increase relationship maturity. The construction of the key dimensions is adjusted through iteration in collaboration with consulting experts within thefield of outsourcing, who constituted a vital contribution to the research. Data collection was conducted through simultaneously performed semi-structured interviews and associated surveys with purpose of testing the key dimensions for validation with related findings. The research was carried out in relation with some of the larger organizations in the Swedish industry in Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the respondents who participated holds executive positions within the organizations. Concluding remarksprove support to construct key dimensions in thispaper, based upon theoretical bestpractices from the literature and contribution of thefocus group.Illumination of the correlation between each critical aspects effect on relationship maturity is supported with limitations, as the measurement of each aspect does not sufficiently cover the organization's overall strategy regarding outsourcing relationship maturity. However, the key dimensions is sufficient ingenerating a notion of current relationship maturity that would give guidance on what to improve. Finally, this paper suggests future research on further development of the key dimensions, including detailed studies of relationship maturity effect on outsourcing collaboration.