Towards a unified model for successful implementation of outsourcing and reversibility of information systems

Outsourcing information systems services is considered a strategic decision for many organizations because it is a risky endeavor. When issues arise during the outsourcing process, many organizations tend to switch their operations from external vendors back to in-house, i.e., implement reversibility or back-sourcing. There is evidence of sufficient scale to warrant further attention to the reversibility process due to the increased failure of outsourcing projects. One of the main goals of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework that can help implement both outsourcing and reversibility projects successfully. In addition to the risks associated with the outsourcing process, most researches focus on the outsourcing process after the relationship between the vendor and the organization is established, while the activities related to pre-outsourcing and post-outsourcing stages are neglected or given little concern. Another objective of this work is to integrate the outsourcing phase with the pre and post outsourcing phases. This paper also aims to identify the critical factors affecting the outsourcing and reversibility processes, thereby dealing with the outsourcing risks from the beginning rather than as an afterthought.