Authors: Judy Zolkiewski; Marie Newman
The purpose of the research is to explore the potential positive effects of interparty conflict in outsourcing relationships specifically within the Information Technology Enabled-Services (ITES) sector using the Interaction Approach model (Håkansson, 1982). Conflict is an inherent part of all business relationships (Waluszewski and Håkansson, 2006) and a relationship without conflict will never exist (Rhenman et al., 1970). Conflict is multidimensional and there is no one single common definition. Conflict as a phenomenon has been researched from a wide array of disciplines where most studies have concentrated on investigating the negative sides of conflict (Plank and Newell, 2007). From the IMP perspective, studies have been on both the positive and negative aspects of conflict. Relevant literature on conflict indicates that conflict can be either constructive or destructive and even neutral at times depending on how the conflict is handled (Pondy, 1967: Assael, 1969). The existing literature on conflict infers that when conflict is positive it can improve relationship quality, facilitate better decision making and promote creativity (Gadde and Håkansson, 2010). On the other hand, when conflict is negative it creates animosity and affects the level of cooperation between parties (Ford, 1980).Conflict in outsourcing has not had much academic attention. Outsourcing is a fast-growing industry where many relationships are being formed and many of these relationships tend to encounter difficulties in their first year of the partnership (MacInnis, 2003). Outsourcing relationships like any other business relationships are important and need to be managed to ensure longevity of the relationships (Heide and John, 2002: Kern and Blois, 2002: Lacity et al., 2010). Conflict in outsourcing relationships are bound to occur frequently due to the high level of adaption that is required by the client. When firms outsource previously in-house services the co-ordination and control of the function remains with the client (Axelsson and Wynstra, 2002) where the managers have to continue managing the services, in effect managing the suppliers and at this juncture a high degree of conflict is bound to occur. Since the outsourcing sector has developed rapidly due to advances in communications technology, focused academic research into the outsourcing industry has not kept pace. Research on outsourcing has been predominantly focused towards the benefits and drawbacks of outsourcing.The purpose of the research is to explore the potential positive effects of interparty conflict in outsourcing relationships specifically within the Information Technology Enabled-Services (ITES) sector using the Interaction Approach model (Håkansson, 1982). Conflict is an inherent part of all business relationships (Waluszewski and Håkansson, 2006) and a relationship without conflict will never exist (Rhenman et al., 1970). Conflict is multidimensional and there is no one single common definition. Conflict as a phenomenon has been researched from a wide array of disciplines where most studies have concentrated on investigating the negative sides of conflict (Plank and Newell, 2007). From the IMP perspective, studies have been on both the positive and negative aspects of conflict. Relevant literature on conflict indicates that conflict can be either constructive or destructive and even neutral at times depending on how the conflict is handled (Pondy, 1967: Assael, 1969). The existing literature on conflict infers that when conflict is positive it can improve relationship quality, facilitate better decision making and promote creativity (Gadde and Håkansson, 2010). On the other hand, when conflict is negative it creates animosity and affects the level of cooperation between parties (Ford, 1980).Conflict in outsourcing has not had much academic attention. Outsourcing is a fast-growing industry where many relationships are being formed and many of these relationships tend to encounter difficulties in their first year of the partnership (MacInnis, 2003). Outsourcing relationships like any other business relationships are important and need to be managed to ensure longevity of the relationships (Heide and John, 2002: Kern and Blois, 2002: Lacity et al., 2010). Conflict in outsourcing relationships are bound to occur frequently due to the high level of adaption that is required by the client. When firms outsource previously in-house services the co-ordination and control of the function remains with the client (Axelsson and Wynstra, 2002) where the managers have to continue managing the services, in effect managing the suppliers and at this juncture a high degree of conflict is bound to occur. Since the outsourcing sector has developed rapidly due to advances in communications technology, focused academic research into the outsourcing industry has not kept pace. Research on outsourcing has been predominantly focused towards the benefits and drawbacks of outsourcing.Due to the lack of academic focus on the positive benefits of conflict and its antecedent factors within outsourcing relationships and business relationships in general, the aim of this research is to explore conflict as a constructive phenomenon. The study will provide an insight into the causes of conflict and the potential positive outcomes that can be captured including the methods of conflict management employed. The benefits of having research into how to extract positive effects from conflict situations shall aid organisations to understand why conflict occurs and how it can be handled effectively.Initial findings from a single embedded case study will be presented to illustrate the positive outcomes of conflict.
Journal: n.a. (n.a. – n.a.)
Web Address: n.a.
Publish Year: 2012
Conference: Rome, Italy (2012)