Knowledge transfer and utilization in IT outsourcing partnerships: A preliminary model of antecedents and outcomes

• We examine the antecedents and outcomes of knowledge transfer and utilization.
• Client motivation, vendor willingness and codifiability affect knowledge transfer.
• Transferred knowledge and integration mechanisms shape knowledge utilization.
• Knowledge utilization is positively related to operational and strategic gains.

We developed a nomological network of antecedents and outcomes of knowledge transfer and utilization in IT outsourcing relationships, and tested it using a survey of 146 IT outsourcing partnerships in Singapore.Our findings showed that the characteristics of outsourcing clients, vendors, and knowledge transferred played important roles in facilitating knowledge transfer; the transferred knowledge in conjunction with the knowledge integration mechanisms affected knowledge utilization in client-firms, and that this generated significant operational and strategic performance gains in IT operations. Our findings can aid practitioners determine how to use outsourcing to improve knowledge management in their organization.