Research Commentary: Cooperation, Coordination, and Governance in Multisourcing: An Agenda for Analytical and Empirical Research

By Ravi Bapna, Anitesh Barua, Deepa Mani, Amit Mehra
Information Systems Research | December 2010

Citation

Bapna, Ravi., Barua, Anitesh., Mani, Deepa., Mehra, Amit. Research Commentary: Cooperation, Coordination, and Governance in Multisourcing: An Agenda for Analytical and Empirical Research Information Systems Research .

Information Systems Research, 2010

Abstract

Multi-sourcing, the practice of stitching together best-of-breed IT services from multiple, geographically dispersed service providers represents the leading edge of modern organizational forms. While major strides have been achieved in the last decade in the Information Systems (IS) and strategic management literature in improving our understanding of outsourcing, the focus has been on a dyadic relationship between a client and a vendor. We demonstrate that a straightforward extrapolation of such a dyadic relationship falls short of addressing the nuanced incentive-effort-output linkages that arise when multiple vendors, who are competitors, have to cooperate and coordinate to achieve the client’s business objectives. We find that when multiple vendors have to work together to deliver end-to-end services to a client, the agents’ efforts critically hinge on the degree of interdependence between the various tasks as well as the observability and verifiability of output. Based on the analysis of actual multi-sourcing contract details over the last decade, interviews with leading practitioners and by developing a stylized analytical model, we lay the foundation for a normative theory of multi-sourcing and present a research agenda in this domain.

Professor Deepa Mani is Professor of Information Systems and the Deputy Dean of Academic Programmes & Digital Learning at the Indian School of Business. Deepa’s research interests are at the intersection of technology, organisation, and society. She has demonstrated significant thought leadership on the business and policy implications of technological innovations and investments. Her research articles have been published in leading academic journals and extensively featured in refereed conference proceedings, edited book chapters, and popular media outlets. Deepa serves as a Senior Editor at Information Systems Research. Deepa’s research has also had widespread impact on business practice and policy. In recognition of her impact, she was awarded the prestigious INFORMS Information Systems Society (ISS) Practical Impacts Award in 2022.

Deepa has been appointed to serve on several expert committees of the Central and State governments to provide guidance on policies for the digital economy, digital interventions in key sectors, and catalyse grassroot impacts using technology. She also extensively coaches organizations, keynotes corporate leadership events, and conducts executive education in the areas of digital business models, digital transformation and technology product management.

Deepa completed her undergraduate education at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, Masters in Information Systems from Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania, and her doctorate in Information Systems from the University of Texas, Austin.

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