Client Peripheral Knowledge and Outsourcing Project Outcomes

Client peripheral knowledge is the knowledge residing in the client organization regarding the specific technologies and methodologies needed to successfully complete an IT (information technology) project that has been outsourced by the client. Data is collected from 205 USA managers, who have overseen outsourced IT projects, to see if peripheral knowledge in their own client organization affected outsourced project processes and outcomes. The project processes examined are the degree of stability of requirements during the project, and the level of vendor activities to interface with the client. The project outcome is operationalized as client satisfaction, as well as project cost performance and time performance. We find client peripheral knowledge positively affects requirement stability and vendor activities to interface with the client; requirement stability in turn positively affects client satisfaction and time performance; and vendor activities positively affect client satisfaction, but levy a penalty on the cost performance and time performance.