IT Outsourcing Relationships in Swedish Public Organizations

Abstract

Information technology (IT) is not only beneficial for the private sector but has a lot to offer for the public sector as well. However, most of the studies in IT outsourcing relationships consider only the private sector and do not pay attention to the public sector. In this context, the research has looked to determine the influential factors in IT outsourcing relationships in Swedish public organizations like are Swedish municipalities and classified them according to the importance. The research methodology used has included a survey among IT outsourcing decision makers from Swedish municipalities and a case study in a Swedish municipality. The survey has revealed that trust, cooperation, commitment, communication, and flexibility are the top five most important factors which are influencing the provider-recipient IT outsourcing relationship in Swedish municipalities. While the case study has revealed that all the factors that were identified during the literature review are influencing the provider-recipient IT outsourcing relationship in Swedish municipalities plus the identification of two new factors which are legislation and economy/money.