Jahyun Goo

The role of service level agreements in relational management of information technology outsourcing: an empirical study

This study extends the view that formal contracts and relational governance function as complements rather than as substitutes. We investigate how specific characteristics of service level agreements (SLAs) impact relational governance in information technology outsourcing relationships. Eleven contractual elements (categorized into three SLA characteristics: foundation, change, and governance characteristics) are hypothesized to act as complements of three relational governance attributes: relational norms, harmonious conflict resolution, and mutual dependence. Data for the study were collected through a survey of South Korean IT executives. Results of the study support the fundamental proposition of complementarity between formal contracts and relational governance, and indicate that well-structured SLAs have significant positive influence on the various aspects of relational governance in IT outsourcing relationships. However, the study also reveals that change characteristics of SLAs may act as a substitute for relational governance as these characteristics were found to dampen the level of trust and commitment through moderation effects. Overall, the findings support the proposition that well-developed SLAs not only provide a way to measure the service providers performance, but also enable effective management of outsourcing engagements through the development of partnership-style relationships with high levels of trust and commitment.

An investigation of factors that influence the duration of IT outsourcing relationships

Past studies in the IT outsourcing area have examined the management of IT outsourcing relationships from a variety of perspectives. The present paper extends this line of research. In this study, we take a multi-theoretic perspective to explore factors that determine the duration of continuing IT outsourcing relationships between vendor and client firms. Five ex-ante and two ex-post factors that may influence relationship duration were examined in this study. Data for this study were collected using a nationwide survey. To investigate the dynamics of continuing outsourcing relationships through repetitive contracts, we performed survival analysis using an accelerated failure-time (AFT) model. Four factors are found to have a significant relationship with relationship duration as hypothesized. However, three factors, of which two are ex-post factors, are found to not have a significant impact on outsourcing relationship duration. Implications and contributions of the study are discussed.

User behaviour towards protective information technologies: the role of national cultural differences

Computer technologies that protect data and systems from viruses, unauthorized access, disruptions, spyware and other threats have become increasingly important in the globally networked economy and society. Yet little is known about user attitudes and behaviour towards this category of information technologies. Comparative studies across different cultures in this context are even rarer. In this study, we examine the cross‐cultural differences between South Korea and the United States in user behaviour towards protective information technologies. We develop a theoretical model of user behaviour based on the framework of the theory of planned behaviour and national cultural dimensions and indices. We posit that cultural factors moderate the strength of the relationships in the behavioural model in the context of protective information technologies. The model was then empirically tested using structural equation modelling techniques in conjunction with multi‐group analysis. Most of the hypothesized moderating effects of national cultural factors were found to be statistically significant. Our findings suggest that cultural factors should be considered in order to design effective information security policies, practices and technologies in global networks where multiple cultures coexist. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.

Facilitating relational governance through service level agreements in IT outsourcing: An application of the commitment-trust theory

Firms increasingly rely on outsourcing for strategic IT decisions, and the many sophisticated forms of outsourcing require significant management attention to ensure their success. Two forms of interorganizational governance-formal control and relational-have been used to examine the management of IT outsourcing relationships. Contrary to the conventional substitution view, recent studies have found that these two governance modes are complementary; however, the dynamics of their interactions remain unexplored. Based on the commitment-trust theory, this paper focuses on how the formal control mechanism can influence the relational governance in an outsourcing engagement. Using service level agreements (SLAs) as a proxy for formal control, this study finds that eleven contractual elements, characterized as foundation, governance, and change management variables in an SLA, are positively related to the trust and relationship commitment among the parties. Trust and commitment, in turn, positively influence relational outcomes that we theorize would contribute to outsourcing success. Both research and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Contract as a Source of Trust--Commitment in Successful IT Outsourcing Relationship: An Empirical Study

Existing studies on IT outsourcing have mainly examined partnership factors that influence IT outsourcing effectiveness. This stream of IT outsourcing research has largely ignored how to foster and manage necessary attributes of partner relationships that promote relationship quality, leaving the role of the formal contract in the context of managing outsourcing relationships untouched. This research extends such studies and integrates the extant views that contracts and relational governance function as a complement and that relationship commitment and trust are the key attributes in the relational governance impacting on the interorganizational performance. Using service level agreements (SLA) we examine how specific elements of formal contracts help firms to shape their relational attributes such as trust and commitment that leads to the success of IT outsourcing. The results show that the effects of well-structured SLA in managing the relational aspects of IT outsourcing contracts are significant. This paper also provides insight into the development of relational governance through a contractual mechanism in IT outsourcing engagements

Optimal information security investment in a Healthcare Information Exchange: An economic analysis

Abstract The complexity of the problem, the increasing security breaches, and the regulatory and financial consequences of breached patient data highlight the fact that security of electronic patient information in Healthcare Information Exchanges (HIEs) is an organizational imperative and a research priority. This study applies classical economic decision analysis techniques and models the HIE based on its network characteristics to offer key insights into the issue of determining the optimal level of information security investment. We find that for an organization in a HIE, only security events with the potential loss reaching some critical value are worth protecting, and organizations would only spend a fraction of the intrinsic security risk on protection measures. Even when business benefit from security investment exists, organizations in a HIE tend to invest based on risk reduction alone. The implications of such decisions made at the node level and the resulting built-in moral hazard at the HIE level is discussed.

Smart tourism technologies in travel planning: The role of exploration and exploitation

Abstract The use of smart tourism technologies such as travel-related websites, social media, and smartphones in travel planning has been pervasive and growing. This study examines the mechanism of how travelers use these technologies to enhance travel satisfaction. By adopting the framework of exploration and exploitation and identifying the antecedents that advance and prohibit such uses, we find that the attributes of smart tourism technologies promote both explorative and exploitative use, while user’s security and privacy concerns have a negative effect. In addition, explorative use has a strong influence on overall travel experience satisfaction, and exploitative use mainly enhances the transaction satisfaction.

A Path Way to Successful Management of Individual Intention to Security Compliance: A Role of Organizational Security Climate

While organizations are making a considerable effort to leverage formal and informal control mechanisms (e.g., policies, procedures, organizational culture) to improve security, their impact and effectiveness is under scrutiny as employees seldom comply with information security procedures. Drawing upon Griffin and Neals safety climate and performance model, we develop an information security climate model of security policy compliance. With 581 responses collected through a survey of IT users in South Korea, the results strongly support the fundamental proposition that the information security climate has significant positive influence on the intention of the security policy compliance. The study also reveals that the security climate nurtures the employees organizational commitment, which in turn shapes favorable attitude towards the compliance of information security and controls the perceived cost of security compliance at the same time. Overall, the findings support our view that various organizational efforts towards information security collectively create the fertile environment where an organizational member is transformed from a security threat to a security asset.