ABSTRACT
Abstract: De-escalation of commitment by service providers is a major risk in information technology (IT) outsourcing projects and it can lead to project failure. However, current research is still unclear about how best to maintain service provider commitment in IT outsourcing contexts. The goal of this research is to understand which of two alternative influence sources-power, a unilateral influence source, or partnership, a bilateral influence source-better explains service provider commitment in application service provider (ASP) outsourcing relationships. Data are collected through a controlled laboratory experiment to determine precisely the relative impact of these two variables on service provider commitment. The results of the study indicate that both power and partnership play critical roles in shaping service provider commitment in ASP outsourcing relationships, with partnership having a stronger influence. The findings suggest that client IT managers should seek a balance between the two control levers-power and partnership-as a means of managing their service providers more effectively to achieve outsourcing success.
