Boundary Spanners and Client Vendor Relationships in IT Outsourcing: A Social Capital Perspective

Abstract

IT outsourcing success depends on efficient management of client-vendor relationships, wherein, boundary spanners play a crucial role. Boundary spanners are individuals, who operate at the periphery or boundary of an organization, performing organizationally relevant tasks (Leifer & Delbecq, 1978). Boundary spanners function either as information exchange agents between the organization and its environment (Leifer & Delbecq, 1978), or as an external representative for the organization (Ancona & Caldwell, 1990, 1992). In this research we use a qualitative case research method to address the research question “How do boundary spanners influence client- vendor relationships in IT outsourcing engagements?” In order to explore “how” a boundary spanner could influence IT outsourcing relationships, especially in an external representative function, we have used the Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998) classification of social capital. We have conducted an in-depth case based study of a boundary spanner in a large Indian IT vendor organization, and his relationship with his client, one of the largest banks in Australia. The social capital classification guides inductive analysis in this study. The contribution of this study is three fold. Firstly, it helps develop propositions regarding how boundary spanners operate. Secondly, it empirically validates the elements of social capital of Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998) framework in an IT outsourcing context. Thirdly, it extends the existing social capital framework by trying to disentangle the constituent elements and develop a sequence of these elements for social capital formation.