Global software development: commitment, trust and cultural sensitivity in strategic partnerships

Abstract

Much research has studied off-shore outsourcing from a Western client perspective. Thisarticle tries to shed light on what an Indian vendor perceives as important to manage large andcomplex strategic partnerships in IT outsourcing, and in particular how mutually profitable,long-term relationships with European clients are created and maintained, both at companyand project levels. We investigate this issue through qualitative interviews with variousvendor representatives in offshore and on-site teams in a top tier multinational company ofIndian origin.In the analysis of interview accounts of close collaboration processes in two large and complexprojects, where off-shoring of software development is moved to a strategic level, we foundthat the vendor was able to establish a strategic partnership through long-term engagementwith the field of banking and insurance as well as through conscious relationship managementwith the clients. Three major themes describe important aspects of the strategic partnerships:1) senior management commitment and employee identification with the projects, 2) mutualtrust and transparency, and 3) cross-cultural understanding and sensitivity. The article drawsattention to the important collaborative work done by people who are able to span boundariesin the complex organizational set-up of global IT development projects.