IT Service Industry Research Articles

Success Factors in Sustainable Management of IT Service Projects: Exploratory Factor Analysis

Management of successful IT projects in a sustainable manner is influenced by numerous factors. Organizational awareness of the necessity of engaging all project stakeholders is an important issue that helps in meeting project sustainable development goals. While there are many studies on the success factors of IT software projects, there is still little coherent research on the success factors of IT service projects. The purpose of this article is to contribute in filling this gap by attempting to identify success factors of the IT services project involving both traditional and agile approaches and considering sustainable development, specifically in terms of the stakeholders’ role in project management. We conducted questionnaire-based research involving 155 IT service project managers. The results of the study were subjected to exploratory factor analysis. As a result, we presented and thoroughly formally examined the factorial model of success components in the IT service industry. We distinguished four factors: (1) agile techniques and change management, (2) organization and people, (3) stakeholders and risk analysis, and (4) work environment. The results were compared with analogous studies found in the literature. The research showed that both traditional and agile management approaches coexist, meet sustainable development goals, and are significant for the successful management in IT service projects where all stakeholders play an important role.

Role of foreign MNCs in technological activities of India’s IT services industry: an analysis from patent granted data

ABSTRACT India has now become one of the biggest sourcing countries for engineers and scientists. More than 25 per cent of all worldwide patent sourcing by the US companies has at least one inventor from India or China. This paper is a fresh attempt to discuss different aspects of measuring technological activities of Indian IT services industry with the help of detailed patent granted data, particularly first name inventor (FNI). The Indian IT industry has experienced several transformations. After the economic reforms of 1991, the presence of foreign MNCs in this industry started rising. Presently, the industry is dominated by foreign MNCs in terms of patent applications, the patent granted, and software exports. The study found that more than 50 per cent of patents granted to IT companies by the USPTO has at least one First Name Inventor from India. Results also show that the industry has become the world’s largest sourcing destination for foreign MNCs. Today, almost all big foreign MNCs from all over the world, including IBM, Apple, Qualcomm, Samsung and Nokia have established their subsidiary in India. Bangalore has become the most desired destinations for foreign MNCs.

Barriers to service recovery in B2B markets: a TISM approach in the context of IT-based services

PurposeTo address service failure issues, scholars have recognized several service recovery (SR) mechanisms. However, there exist many barriers that retard an effective SR process, and those often lead to negative consequences. Although this is a generic problem applicable across markets, it becomes critical in B2B markets, as they deal with high impact and corporate customers. The purpose of this paper is to identify these SR barriers in B2B markets and explore their linkages toward identifying the key driving barriers.Design/methodology/approachA four-phased methodology to address this call in the IT services industry was used. First, the identification phase led to the selection of 27 barriers based on literature. Second, in the prioritization phase, 12 salient barriers were prioritized with the help of an expert panel. Third, in the modelling phase, the total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) technique was used to examine the mutual influences among these barriers toward modelling their linkages using a digraph. Finally, in the classification phase, these barriers were graphically plotted and classified into four quadrants based on their dependence and driving powers by using Matriced Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée á un Classement (MICMAC) analysis.FindingsTwo strategic barriers, namely, technology obsolescence and poor top management commitment, presented the strongest challenges against effective SR, as they were least dependent on other barriers and exerted strong influence over the operational barriers to executing SR.Practical implicationsBecause the strategic level barriers, exerting strong influence against effective SR, arise from the strategic choices of board and the C-suite, this paper helps them anticipate the recovery-related after effects of their choices, thus helping them in making better decisions.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to research as it is first of its kind to explore and link SR barriers in B2B markets.

To Study Disruption by Cloud Computing in it Service Industry

The research is conducted on the people serving IT Support and Development in various Sectors by filling an online questionnaire and interpreting the data collected by analysing demographically to find out opinion and thoughts about the disruption and ranking them and statistically by finding the associations between factors like reliability and the location of Data Center, Organization Culture and Disruption and between Security and Compliances and Regulatory. The research concluded that the Cloud Computing has brought Disruption in IT service Industry and population agrees to the statement but not strongly agree to it and Disruption will happen whether management supports the Innovation or Understands or not, it is the need of the hour. The main point of criticism for Cloud is concerns about security and privacy of Data which can be resolved with various compliances and Localization of Data Centers

The Impact of COVID‐19 on IT Services Industry ‐ Expected Transformations

British Journal of ManagementVolume 31, Issue 3 p. 450-452 Impact of COVID-19 The Impact of COVID-19 on IT Services Industry - Expected Transformations Krishnamurthy Shankar, Corresponding Author Krishnamurthy Shankar [email protected] [email protected] Infosys Ltd., Electronic City, Hosur Road, Bangalore, 560100 India Corresponding author email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author Krishnamurthy Shankar, Corresponding Author Krishnamurthy Shankar [email protected] [email protected] Infosys Ltd., Electronic City, Hosur Road, Bangalore, 560100 India Corresponding author email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author First published: 09 July 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12423Citations: 41Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume31, Issue3July 2020Pages 450-452 This article also appears in:Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Management & OrganisationManaging Human Resources During a Global Crisis: A Multilevel Response RelatedInformation

Let's explore with a divided team! The effects of top management team demographic faultlines on technological exploration

AbstractResearch on top management team (TMT) diversity suggests that diverse backgrounds improve technological exploration. However, this diversity may also cause demographic faultlines that break a team into subgroups and undermine team performance, and the status difference between CEO and top managers may change inter-subgroup dynamics. We predicted that TMT faultline had an inverted U-shape relationship with technological exploration. Further, we predicted that the effects of TMT faultline were more prominent when the CEO is in the minority subgroup than when the CEO was in the majority subgroup. Using a longitudinal sample from the US IT services industry, the results found that TMT faultline exhibited an inverted U-shape relationship with technological exploration only when the CEO was in the minority subgroup, and such relationship disappeared when the CEO was in the majority subgroup.

Social media marketing of IT service companies: Analysis using a concept-linking mining approach

The IT service industry values the experience of social familiarity, which is based on routine interactions with suppliers and customers and is at the frontier of social media marketing. To further understand how IT service companies use social media to engage their customers or potential leads, the objectives of this research are to delineate the differences between IT service companies’ use of social media and users’ expectations based on knowledge extracted from user-generated content on Twitter. We applied a text mining approach called two-tier concept-linking analysis to extract patterns in Twitter posts from top IT service companies as well as the related tweets from the Twitter users. We further compare the yearly similarities and differences of the key concepts from the company’s official account and from the users. Besides, the key concepts between users’ expectations and IT service companies’ social media use were compared on the basis of first-tier concepts and further elaborated by their corresponding second-tier concepts. Our approach contributes to further understand the socio-cognitive insights underlying the dynamic social media data, from which organizations and individuals in charge can note the objectives they wish to maintain and the marketing gaps they wish to improve on.

The Effect of Innovation Capability on Business Performance: A Focus on IT and Business Service Companies

With the introduction of a wide variety of new technologies during the fourth industrial revolution, companies in Korea have attempted to enhance their innovation activities, which include investment in new technology adoption, technical and non-technical innovation factors, and Research & Development (R&D) activity, to ensure the development and growth of their business performance and sustainability. In particular, IT and business services, two important industries in Korea, have been impacted by the development of new technology and have sought to adopt new technologies as soon as possible to survive in a rapidly changing business environment. The aim of our study is to empirically explore the effect of innovation activities on the performance of Korean IT and business service companies. To achieve this aim, we examine the innovation activities and business performance of 160 companies (80 large companies and 80 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)) in the IT and business service industries in Korea from 2009 to 2017. This study empirically analyzes panel data using fixed effect and random effect models with Hausman tests. According to our results, an improvement in product innovation has a positive impact on business performance (i.e., revenue and labor productivity) in both large companies and SMEs, as does R&D investment, research resources, and company age. However, an improvement in process innovation only has a positive impact on the business performance of large companies, and R&D cooperation only has a positive impact on the business performance of SMEs. As a result, both large companies and SMEs should concentrate on technological innovations to improve their sustainability and thus ensure their success in the long term.

Una mirada ampliada sobre la precariedad post-industrial. El caso de los trabajadores informáticos a partir de estudios sociales recientes

Realizamos un análisis ampliado de la precarización laboral en el marco de la sociedad post-industrial, a partir del caso del sector de software y servicios informáticos. Éste resulta uno de los nuevos sectores con mayor crecimiento comercial, pero desregulado y segmentado en sus condiciones laborales. Nuestro propósito es analizar la precarización que atraviesa este sector emblemático de la sociedad postindustrial, tomando en consideración no sólo sus condiciones contractuales sino también las subjetivas y de las relaciones laborales, a partir de estudios recientes y fuentes estadísticas.

Semantic Web Ontologies based Knowledge Management Framework for IT Service Management

Technology driven organisations are investing hugely in training and knowledge enrichment of their employees. This is due to the fact that knowledge is now considered as an asset by organisations. Additionally, with emerging technologies, organisations are also spending heavily in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance their internal operations and processes. Among the various internal processes, Knowledge Management is an area which has been there since many years but when it is about the application of latest technology and innovations for Knowledge Management practices, there are huge opportunities. This paper presents an analysis of various KM frameworks available for different domains and based on current state and limitation identified, it proposes a Semantic Web Ontology based Knowledge Management System for IT Service Industry

AGGLOMERATION ECONOMIES AND PERFORMANCE IN KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE BUSINESS SERVICES

Most studies on the relationship between agglomeration economies and economic performance have focussed on regions in general or manufacturing. Very few papers have considered the impacts of agglomeration economies on the economic performance of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) firms. We propose a theoretical framework based on the characteristics of KIBS to study the precise channels through which KIBS firms benefit from specialization externalities and diversity externalities. The empirical evidence based on the software and IT services industry in China, a very dynamic branch of KIBS, shows that firms benefit from service diversity externalities but not specialization externalities, consistent with the idea of “nursery cities”.

Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Text of Annual Reports—The Case of the IT Services Industry

Annual reports are an important source of qualitative information about a company’s strategic areas, including sustainability. However, previous work on sustainability assessment has been limited to quantitative indicators that are difficult to obtain. Here, we address this issue by analyzing a company’s strategic documents, with the specific aim of demonstrating the role of sustainability and social responsibility in the text of the annual reports of companies in the IT services industry. We demonstrate that this information is a significant determinant of future economic outcomes. Specifically, here we evaluate sentiment in managerial communication in the area of sustainable business by using collocation analysis of topic and sentiment word lists. Several domain-specific word lists were used for each category monitored. Specifically, Loughran and McDonald’s word list was used to measure sentiment in the context of corporate social responsibility and sustainability. The word list that was developed by Pencle and Malaescu was used for CSR, while novel word lists are proposed for sustainability topics. The results of experiments show that the sentiment of sustainability topics (environmental and social in particular) in the annual reports may be a significant indicator of future profitability and thus represent an important information for corporate stakeholders.

An Investigation of Five Commitment Dimensions and its impacts on Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention of the Employees in IT Service Industry

This study investigated the five scales of organizational commitment and its impacts on job satisfaction and turnover intention of IT employees. Existing three component model of organizational commitment including affective, continuance, and normative commitment(AC, CC, NC) has been widely used, especially in the western contexts. However, little attempt has been made to examine the extent to which the three component model is appropriate for Korean employees. Thus, we examined the validity of the existing three component model and developed the two new scales, Benefit-related Commitment(BC) and Relational Commitment(RC) reflecting unique cultural and institutional work values in Korean labor market. More importantly, we investigated the relationships among the five commitment scales, job satisfaction, and turnover intention of IT employees. The results showed strong evidence for the convergent and discriminant validity of newly developed BC and RC as well as AC, CC, and NC among them. Furthermore, the five commitment scales excluding CC and NC were positively related to job satisfaction. Also, all five commitment scales were negatively related to turnover intention. The findings provide theoretical implication for the commitment scales and managerial implication for the employees in IT service Industry.

A Multi-Dimensional Perspective on Service Innovation in the IT Services Industry

A Multi-Dimensional Perspective on Service Innovation in the IT Services Industry

Vendor response to client opportunism in IT service relationships: Exploring the moderating effect of client involvement

Research literature, both conceptual and empirical, has enunciated benefits of client involvement for better client vendor relationships. However, relevant research in the realm of problematic relationships is scarce. To address the gap, this research examines the role of client involvement for vendor response strategies when client displays opportunism and vendor experiences negative affect. The paper uses data from 280 project managers belonging to the IT services industry. Structural equation analysis reveals that client involvement in the form of senior management involvement has varied effect on response strategies. It weakens the influence of vendor negative affect on passive acceptance and disengagement. However, it does not impact the influence of vendor negative affect on constructive discussion and venting. Findings suggest that when client involvement is high, vendor negative emotions in response to client opportunism would lead to behavior that sustains, but does not secure the quality of the relationship. Theoretical and practical implications and future research directions are discussed.

Strategic Merger through the Backdoor Listing: Kakao and Daum Case in IT service industry in Korea

Strategic Merger through the Backdoor Listing: Kakao and Daum Case in IT service industry in Korea

Training, Shared Knowledge, and Performance: A study in the Offshored IT Services Industry

Why do firms invest in general human capital when it is firm specific skills that contribute to a firm’s competitive advantage? We argue that general training creates shared knowledge, which enable...

Managing Power Distance to Retain Talent

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of manager-employee relationships and its impact on talent retention. The study discusses the power distance between managers and employees in knowledge-intensive sectors like Information Technology services industry. Grounded Theory Research design was used to explore the research phenomenon. The study was based on the analysis of fifty-two in-depth interviews from employees and managers in IT services industry in India. Purposeful and theoretical sampling designs were used to locate the participants for the study. Grounded theory analytical procedures - Open, axial and selective coding were used to analyse and interpret the interview narratives. The results and discussion of the study are in favour of the Hofstede's (2001) low power distance dimensions that are widely prevalent in organizations in IT services industry in India. However, the study's findings contrast the study conducted by Hofstede in which India was rated relatively high on power dimensions.

IBM's service journey: A summary sketch

IBM is an iconic corporation, whose history of innovation and growth has been told many times in many ways. In this short retelling, the focus is from the perspective of service and service growth. In the early 1990s, during what was arguably IBM's darkest days, it was a return to service and service growth that saved IBM and dramatically grew the IT services industry. This paper shares some personal reflections on the history of IBM from a service perspective, and advocates for more service research to advance our understanding of service systems and service growth.

An empirical investigation of the antecedents of value co-creation in B2B IT services outsourcing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conduct empirical investigation of value co-creation phenomena in IT services outsourcing. This survey based research enabled to identify antecedents of value co-creation and their impact on value outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – This empirical study identifies 25 drivers of value co-creation in IT outsourcing services. These drivers were identified from reported literature and by studying IT project reports. The data were collected from client and supplier organizations followed by verification of the drivers (using PCA and CFA methodologies) that contribute significantly to value co-creation in the IT services outsourcing domain. Furthermore, using SEM and linear regression, the authors have verified the strength of their relationships with value co-creation. Findings – This research is subjected to exploratory factor analysis, which resulted in six antecedents of value co-creation in IT services outsourcing. These antecedents include alliance relationship, strategic intent, service actualization, intrapreneurship, collective capabilities, and resource management. The alliance relationship, strategic intent, service actualization, and intrapreneurship are found to be significant for value co-creation. While collective capabilities as a standalone was not significant, the relationship of collective capabilities to value co-creation has achieved significance under the influence of alliance relationship, strategic intent, and other antecedents – when tested and hypothesized through the SEM path model. Research limitations/implications – The research has the following limitations. The antecedents identified are contextual. The potential illustrative, but not exhaustive reasons, for the change of the context may be due to contract duration, age of the project, relationship maturity, expected value outcome from both the parties, etc. The drivers identified in this research are applicable only to IT services (IT and ITES outsourcing). They cannot be generalized to other B2B outsourcing relationship. The authors propose the conducting of separate research to identify the priorities of these antecedents for different types of outsourcing as well different types of value outcomes. Practical implications – This study has added to the knowledge on value co-creation in IT services outsourcing relationships through empirical modeling. From the perspective practitioners of IT industry, this work brings rich information of what are the drivers to value co-creation and their significance on value outcomes in IT services outsourcing. It can provide guidelines to both clients and service providers of similar industry to assess their current practices for value co-creation and re-prioritize their activities and budgets based on the significance of value based benefits. Moreover, practitioners in the IT services industry can use these value drivers and understand the antecedents for value co-creation. As this work is from a dual perspective, both clients and suppliers can assess the applicability of these drivers and antecedents and adopt them to realize mutual value. Originality/value – In the past, researchers have focussed on value after it was created and shared among the respective relationship partners, and very few emphasized the need for proactive identification of the antecedents of value co-creation. Researchers have emphasized on the need for an empirical approach, because most of the published studies are theoretical and conceptual in nature. Hence, the significant contribution of this empirical study is to validate the value co-creation drivers identified from literature and qualitative study (case studies) with IT industry practitioners (no. 256) across the globe and the relevance of antecedents to B2B IT services outsourcing body of knowledge.