Abstract
Offshoring—the transfer of work activities to providers in offshore countries—has for some time affected the nature of work in onshore locations. Not much is however known about the reactions of onshore job incumbents to such changes. In this article, we use a survey of UK firms to examine the relationship between perceived changes in onshore managers’ work characteristics induced by information systems offshoring and managers’ affective organizational commitment. We found that a perceived increase in onshore managers’ job complexity was associated with higher affective organizational commitment only if managers also perceived organizational valence, that is, only if they believed that information systems offshoring benefited their organization. A perceived increase in cross-cultural work was associated with higher affective organizational commitment, and this association was positively moderated by managers’ perceptions of organizational valence. Using the offshoring context, our findings provide insights into consequences of contemporary changes in the nature of work in developed countries and to explain the diverse reactions of onshore job incumbents to such changes.
Highlights
The globalization of contemporary business, underpinned by modern information technologies, has enabled organizations to distribute their operations across multiple countries
We examine the following research questions: (1) How do perceived offshoring-related changes in onshore managers’ work characteristics—namely perceived increases in (a) job complexity and (b) cross-cultural work—affect the levels of onshore managers’ affective organizational commitment? (2) Are these effects moderated by perceived organizational valence? and (3) Does organizational valence have a direct effect on affective organizational commitment? By examining “perceived” rather than “actual” changes in work characteristics, we ensure that we capture changes that were noticeable and significant in the eyes of our participants
Our research explored how perceived offshoring-related changes in onshore managers’ work characteristics are related to their affective organizational commitment
Summary
The globalization of contemporary business, underpinned by modern information technologies, has enabled organizations to distribute their operations across multiple countries. Drawing on the organizational change literature (Fedor et al, 2006; Holt et al, 2007; Rafferty et al, 2013; Weiner, 2009), we reason that employees who do not believe that IS offshoring is beneficial for the organization are less likely to endorse the organization’s decision to offshore In this case, we argue that increased job complexity and cross-cultural work will have a less positive effect on employees’ organizational commitment. We examine the following research questions: (1) How do perceived offshoring-related changes in onshore managers’ work characteristics—namely perceived increases in (a) job complexity and (b) cross-cultural work—affect the levels of onshore managers’ affective organizational commitment? After presenting our methods and results, we discuss the contributions to research on IS offshoring and work design, as well as practical implications, limitations, and directions for future research
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