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access icon free Establishing trust in offshore software outsourcing relationships: an exploratory study using a systematic literature review

  • Author(s): Mahmood Niazi 1, 2 ; Naveed Ikram 2 ; Muneera Bano 3 ; Salma Imtiaz 3 ; Siffat Ullah Khan 4
    • View affiliations
    • Affiliations: 1: Department of Information, Computer Science, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia;
      2: Faculty of Computing, Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan;
      3: Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan;
      4: Department of Software Engineering/Computer Science and IT, University of Malakand, Malakand, Pakistan
  • Source: Volume 7, Issue 5, October 2013, p. 283 – 293
    DOI:  10.1049/iet-sen.2012.0136 , Print ISSN 1751-8806, Online ISSN 1751-8814
© The Institution of Engineering and Technology
Received 03/09/2012, Accepted 13/04/2013, Revised 02/03/2013, Published

Offshore software outsourcing is a widely used business strategy for producing high-quality software at low cost. Trust plays a vital role in establishing the offshore software outsourcing relationships between client and vendor organisations. The objective of this research study is to identify factors via systematic literature review (SLR) that are important for establishing trust in offshore software outsourcing relationships. The authors have performed an SLR by applying the customised search strings, which were derived from the research questions. The authors have identified factors such as face-to-face meeting, better communication, contract management between client and vendor, defining processes, tools, procedures and policies, reliable management, knowledge sharing, mutual expectations, better client-vendor relationship and training programmes that are generally considered critical for establishing trust in offshore software outsourcing relationships. The results also reveal the similarities and differences in the factors identified through different study strategies and in different continents. Offshore software outsourcing companies should focus on the frequently cited factors in order to compete in the offshore software outsourcing business.

Inspec keywords: trusted computing; outsourcing

Other keywords: vendor organisations; offshore software outsourcing companies; systematic literature review; face-to-face meeting; knowledge sharing; high-quality software; contract management; reliable management; offshore software outsourcing relationships; client-vendor relationship; mutual expectations; offshore software outsourcing business; trust; client organisations; business strategy; customised search strings; training programmes; frequently cited factors

Subjects: Data security

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