Understanding it Outsourcing and its Potential Effects on it Workers and Their Environment

Abstract

Gartner has estimated that one of every twenty U.S. technology jobs will be moved offshore by the year 2005 (16). To date, outsourcing has led to the increased application of collaborative technologies as well as a rise in virtual team development. This growth leads to changes and challenges related to the nature of IT work. In an effort to begin understanding these challenges, this paper examines information technology outsourcing from the perspective of its potential effects on IT workers and their environment. As a foundation to this examination, the different definitions of IT outsourcing are presented along with the motivations behind organizational decisions to outsource. An organizing framework is presented that considers the effects of outsourcing on the individual and environment with attention given to the type of outsourcing arrangement and the location of the outsourcing vendor. Implications for practice along with recommendations for future research are discussed.

• outsourcing
• information technology workforce
• information technology work environment