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Purpose - Research into post contract management control in inter-organizational relationships in general is immature and studies of transactional arrangements such as back-office BPO even more so. The global BPO market has grown from over $47 Billion in 2006 to over $75 Billion by 2011. However, satisfaction with such arrangements has been reported to be very low. Neither management control nor economic theories appear able to fully explain how control is realized between firms. This research provides a detailed qualitative analysis of post contract management control methods utilized in practice in a BPO context. Design / methodology / approach - an embedded multiple case study of four transactional BPO arrangements was employed to support generalizability. Data was collected from the USA, UK and India. Sources of evidence from both sides of the dyadic relationship were used to minimize problems of construct validity. A case study protocol was established to maximize case study reliability. Data analysis comprised within case and cross case analyses.

Bidding for inappropriate projects may result either in large losses or consumption of time and resources that could be invested in more profitable projects. The high complexity of process is a major characteristic of bidding decision, which involves a large quantity of objectives and reflection of several internal and external factors. Risk is in place where the rational basis is absent at the time of making this decision; hence the possible negative consequences of such a decision may emerge.

The psychological contract concept is a powerful tool to predict individual attitudes and behaviours in the workplace. Abundant research in this area examines the relationship between the psychological contract held by the individuals and their attitudes and behaviours at work. However the majority of this research is contextualised in organisations characterised by traditional dyadic employer- employee relationships. The past two decades has seen a shift away from the traditional dyadic employment relationship in many organisations. Emergence of outsourcing and off shoring has meant the inclusion of a third party in the workplace and employees often find themselves working for 'third parties' who do not employ them directly within such organisations. In this changed context of employment relationship, the psychological contract provides a powerful tool to further understand the individual at work. This thesis contributes to this gap using a three level analysis model with the individual at the core of the analysis. The nature of an individual's psychological contract is examined at the first level, organisational antecedents of multiple parties within the workplace are considered at the second level and finally cultural and labour market explanations are drawn upon at the final level of analysis. Thus culminating in a thorough examination of the psychological contract in the context of an outsourced off shore call centre, which is a characteristic of the triangular employment relationship involving the employer, employee and a third party within the workplace. Significant results include the emergence of a unique transactional nature of the psychological contract amongst the employees' co-existing with high levels of commitment and turnover. Further, empirical evidence establishes existence of 'multi foci' of the psychological contract, thus confirming previous theoretical conceptualisations alluding to the concept of 'multi foci of the psychological contract'. In conclusion the thesis makes significant contributions towards extending the current scope of psychological contract theory especially in the direction of 'multi foci' a previously unexamined aspect of the psychological contract.

This thesis investigates and compares how the people directly involved in different levels of hotel services outsourcing relationships structure their experiences. The thesis is based on the perceptions of those directly involved in the outsourcing interaction between the private commercial services providers and their public sector clients. The research is informed by literature from outsourcing, resource acquisition theories, Transaction Cost Economics, interaction relationship model and structuration theory. The study describes eight exploratory case studies from selected NHS trusts in the Greater London area and explains the themes behind the structured experiences of those directly involved in these public-private sector outsourcing contractual relationships. The thesis contributes to our understanding of interaction and relationship model but takes .its point of departure from networks to extend its focus from reducing transaction costs and safeguarding investments to adding value through learning and innovation. The thesis also extends our knowledge of structuration theory from a sensitising device and a theory of action to a theory of liberation through the power of agency in using resources for change. The study also suggests areas where pUblic-private sector management theory could be refined for mutual benefit. It demonstrates the validity of resource acquisition theories and services outsourcing framework and the suitability of interaction model and the relational aspect of Transaction Cost Analysis as governance frameworks. The thesis also proposes a wide range of future research agendas to compliment the work done here.

Inter-organisational knowledge transfer is of central interest both as an academic topic and in business practice. However, despite the attention given to the importance of this subject from different perspectives in various contexts, little is known about how knowledge is transferred from vendors to clients in information systems (IS) outsourcing. This research attempts to address this apparent theoretical and empirical deficiency by providing a deeper understanding and more holistic analysis of the key factors which facilitate or inhibit knowledge transfer success in IS outsourcing. This study employed a qualitative, multiple case study approach in the interpretive paradigm. Data was collected mainly from the IS departments of three public sector organisations in Oman. Oman was chosen as the context for the study due to its rapid growth in recent years and the opportunity to consider the many major IS outsourcing projects which have been undertaken by its public sector. Through semi-structured interviews, this study explored the perspectives of the internal IS staff on their experience of knowledge transfer and learning from vendors through various IS outsourcing projects. Written and electronic documentations as well as non-participant observations also served as important triangulation and complementary sources in understanding the phenomenon being studied and as means of gaining additional perspectives and further insights on key issues. The empirical evidence demonstrated that there are five sets of factors which facilitate or inhibit knowledge transfer success in IS outsourcing. These are: knowledge (knowledge tacitness and knowledge complexity), client (learning intent, absorptive capacity and motivation), vendor (vendor capability, vendor credibility and vendor openness), relationship (relationship quality, relationship duration, relationship governance and organisational distance) and knowledge transfer mechanisms (formal and informal). The findings of this study contributed and extended the growing body of research on IS outsourcing by developing a novel, holistic conceptual framework which examined five sets of factors that impact knowledge transfer success. Additionally, it provided prescriptive value for practitioners seeking to realise efficient and effective knowledge transfer in IS outsourcing.