Success Factors and Measures for Public Sector IS/IT Co-Sourcing Contracts

Abstract

The main objective of this research was to explore the effectiveness of contract negotiations between buyers and suppliers in small government organizations, which collectively outsource their IS/IT activities to a single outsourcing vendor, usually referred to as ‘co-sourcing’. A major finding of this study was that organizations could have a successful co-sourcing arrangement by determining and putting into practice certain critical success factors. This research was the first study of government co-sourcing arrangements in Australia that aimed to identify the success of a contract and the critical factors that affected it. In this regard, it can contribute to the existing body of knowledge in co-sourcing activities that have been growing rapidly in government departments as well as in the private sector.