Purpose: To co-create value through dynamic collaborations, enterprises and their suppliers need to orchestrate the integration of complementary resources when providing business services. As such enterprises' strategic decision to apply a plural sourcing strategy to establish dynamic collaborations with their suppliers implies that both in-house and outsourced business services should be bundled into a business services portfolio. However, the antecedents that affect a business services portfolio have rarely conceptually been identified. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on resource orchestration theory, the authors theoretically developed and empirically validated a business services portfolio conceptual model. The model aims at explaining the critical antecedents to a business services portfolio based on a unique data set, comprising 121 international enterprises with variation in the degree of outsourcing, size, geographies and maturity. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to examine the relationships among the antecedents and a business services portfolio. Findings: The findings show that the antecedent, i.e. plural sourcing strategy, modularised business processes and customer orientation have a direct and significant effect on the enterprises' business services portfolio orchestration. The results of the mediation test indicate that modularised business processes fully mediate the relationships between three independent variables with the orchestration of business services portfolio. Originality/value: This study is the first to analyse the impact of plural sourcing strategy, modularised business processes and customer orientation on the business services portfolio orchestration from a plural sourcing context. Additionally, it examines the mediating role of modularised business processes in the relationship between the antecedents and business services portfolio orchestration.

The introduction of robotic process automation (RPA) has created an opportunity for humans to interact with bots. While the promise of RPA has been widely discussed, there are reports suggesting that firms struggle to benefit from RPA. Clearly, interactions between bots and humans do not always yield expected efficiencies and service improvements. However, it is not completely clear what such human-bot interactions entail and how these interactions are perceived by humans. Based on a case study at the Dutch KAS Bank, this paper presents three challenges faced by humans, and consequently the perspectives humans develop about bots and their abilities to perform work. We then provide a set of five practices that are associated with the management of the interactions between humans and bots.

To increase organizational responsiveness, firms nowadays seek various approaches in delivering global shared business services. Today, global operating firms apply a plural sourcing model that consists of both in-house and outsourced business services. As such, service governance is needed to manage interdependencies between vendors, both in-house and outsourced. However, as far aswe know no study has yet addressed how global business services are governed within the context of plural sourcing. We conducted 68 semi-structured interviews with executive management of international firms and distributed a survey questionnaire to explore service governance modes. As a result, we identify five service governance modes: regional, global, centralized, de-centralized and multifunctional. Our paper contributes to research on global business services and plural sourcing by exploring various service governance modes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

During the last decade, the scope of IT outsourcing arrangements evolved from a dyadic client–vendor relationship to a multi-sourcing environment characterized by sourcing inter-dependent services from multiple vendors. This case study addresses the journey of a large client firm in the retail sector who experienced that managing a multi-sourcing arrangement differs significantly from managing bilateral (i.e. dyadic) relationships. The journey consists of three phases: the initiation phase (2008–2010), which can be characterized as stressful and intense; the adaption phase (2010–2012); and the stabilization phase (2012–2015). The case describes actual situations along the journey, including the client’s previous experience, the deal making, the challenges and conflicts faced by the client and their vendors, and the strategic change toward a collaborative type of multi-sourcing arrangement.

Purpose: Due to the convergence of rapid business developments and digitization challenges, service orientation is back on the research agenda as a concept to improve firms’ business services. Yet, little is known about the type of determinants that are relevant and to what degree they affect a firm’s service-oriented strategy. Design/methodology/approach: Building on structural equation modeling (SEM) and a unique data set of 131 international firms from different continents, the authors identify and analyze the key determinants in the context of a firm’s service-oriented strategy. Findings: The findings show that in order to cater for changes, organizations have to manage and adapt the coherence of the determinants’ business services, business processes and knowledge sharing continuously. Moreover, the results show that a service-oriented strategy is not only influenced by business services as such, but business services mediate the relationships between business processes, governance and process-aware information systems to a service-oriented strategy. Research limitations/implications: A limitation is imposed by the limited sample size and the unbalanced response of participants (executive management). In future research, a more extensive survey among a broader group of participants will help the authors to develop their model further in order to generalize the results, as well as more finely grained research related to geography and size might be pursued. Future empirical research is necessary to identify and test the relationships between other constructs and study their effect on a firm’s service-oriented strategy. Practical implications: On a practical level, the authors postulate that an organization’s executive management should pay attention to invest in an organizational entity (department) that manages business services continuously. This organizational entity has to ensure that related processes and knowledge sharing are in place to establish and maintain a service-oriented strategy. Originality/value: This research contributes to service-oriented literature by operationalizing the implementation of an organization’s service-oriented strategy. The authors’ insights go beyond the findings of Aier et al. (2011). The authors found that a service-oriented strategy influences service-oriented project success positively. The authors extended these findings, based on a unique data set, by studying business services and influencing determinants (i.e. business processes, governance, PAIS and knowledge sharing) within the context of service orientation. The renewed attention to the concept of service orientation provides insights into critical determinants that influence the implementation of a service-oriented strategy.

Due to the convergence of rapid business developments and digitization challenges firms need to become more agile. A service-oriented enterprise (SOE) strategy is an approach that decomposes an enterprise into business services that are modular, accessible, and interoperable, in which parts can be provided in-house, or outsourced to the market. The SOE concept has mainly been approached from a technological view and little is known about what type of strategic SOE determinants are relevant. A firm’s strategy to implement an SOE requires top management support. Therefore, insights at executive level are a prerequisite to identify strategic business directions. We conducted a literature review and a qualitative case study amongst eleven firms at executive level in various industries. Business services, business processes, and enabling technology were found in the literature as key determinants influencing a firm’s SOE strategy. Subsequently, the interviews at executive level identified that organizational readiness, knowledge and skills, and governance also affect the SOE strategy of firms. We suggest that a holistic view is required to study the complexity of an SOE. By using an executive view we contribute to IS and business literature as strategic SOE determinants become more explicit.

Sourcing literature reveals that large firms bundle or unbundle existing business services by means of modularization to achieve organizational agility. However, one may assume that firms need some degree of maturity to manage the complexity that comes along with bundling modularized services. The aim of our research is to understand how modularization interrelates with firm maturity when bundling business services, a topic that has been given limited attention in sourcing literature. Based on an exploratory research amongst 110 firms we found evidence for the relevance of influencing factors on firm maturity in bundling services. The findings provide evidence that the number of business services and the size of the firm correlate with the maturity of the firm. More specifically, our analysis identified that the type of market in which a firm acts (i.e. private or public) and adding the Marketing business function to a bundle does not increase firm maturity. Our empirical research contributes to sourcing literature as we expanded previous research by taking a more in-depth view on business services while providing up-to-date insights.

Empirical research on the maturity of retained IT organizations has remained scarce. IS literature shows that studies do not investigate the effect of organizational culture determinants on the relationship with the growth stage of an retained organization. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between organizational culture determinants and retained organizations stages of growth. Data from three case studies was collected and the Social Exchange Theory is used to understand the degree of interaction between the staff of retained organizations. Our analysis identified that culture determinants form a predictable pattern with the growth stage of a retained organization. Specifically, the culture determinants Management and Focus fit with their assumed growth stage in all three case studies. This might indicate that both determinants are interrelated as executive management of a firm has to develop a clear focus to achieve their IT mission and goals. Moreover, from an individual level, the results show that the degree of social interaction between staff is influenced by the perception of IT in the organization.