Tensions in Global IT Multi-sourcing Arrangements: Examining the Barriers to Attaining Common Value Creation

Previous contributions on IT multisourcing were mainly focused on strategy and governance. The way in which actors exchange value as well as information and knowledge has been ignored. Given this void, this paper adopts the ecosystem metaphor and concepts from business model thinking to study common value creation and capturing. An exploratory, case-study is used to study a global IT multisourcing arrangement. The results indicate four barriers in ecosystems that may hinder value creation: managed interdependencies, resource integration, ecosystem boundary spanners, and formal inter-organizational contractual agreements. We contribute to IS literature by exploring, beyond the strategic decision to collaborate, the complexity and mutual dependencies of competing and collaborating actors within a global IT multisourcing context.