As business environment is getting globalized,. how to rapidly integrate information for improving the competitiveness of enterprise becomes a key issue. Therefore, adopting the information system outsourcing to increase the ability of an organization becomes one of the management trends. To obtain a suitable information system is always a critical challenge for most of the companies. Many researches of information system outsourcing showed a lot of un-satisfactions from the user side. Some of the projects are not only un-satisfied but even failed. Did improper expectations exist between the both sides? It is very important to find a trustful, experienced and professional partner for developing the system. Improper expectations and biases can be reduced so as to reduce the risk and avoid the un-necessary delay or conflicts. There were many researches and discussions about the critical success factors of outsourcing ,the relationship between the two sides and outsourcing satisfaction. However, very few researches are devotedto the issue of differences in perception and expectation between the two sides. In this research, multi-case study was adopted as the research method. Fourteen people in eleven cases were interviewed. Differences in perception and expection were investigated under the dimensions of objective, responsibility, relationship, culture and external environment. A framework was proposed to explain the phenomena under investigation. This framework can serve as a reference model for practical information system outsourcing as well as future research.

The phenomenon of industries developing into group organizations has become more and more popular. Most group industries are working actively and hard to expand their market shares and profits by diversifying their investments. Because of having a complete self-developed system, some group companies think their practical experience of business flow paths in system development can be used as reference resources for other companies. These group companies, therefore, encourage their information units to shift the models of ¡§entrepreneurial venture Spin-off company¡¨. According to the past experience and impressions of cooperating with the spin-off companies, some subsidiaries of the group companies have developed a strategy to outsource their information system to spin-off companies. This is a case study with long-term observation in the field. We use the theory of Aspiration-Level Adaptation (Cyert & March, 1963) as a basis to explain the process of decision adaptation while the subsidiary of the group company seeks for software outsourcing from a spin-off company. The outsourcing of the subsidiary of the group company was determined by the inter-trust relationship between the subsidiary and spin-off company as well as the past working performance. The decision index is quite simple. But when the performance of the outsourcing information spin-off company cannot meet the subsidiary¡¦s expectations, the subsidiary will adjust its behaviors and decisions toward the spin-off company by its past experience. The subsidiary will also set up a suitable outsourcing management and control mechanism. Thus, we can see that the information outsourcing process is a continual process of aspiration-level adaptation, and the outsourcing company will adjust its decision according to the degrees that the spin-off company meets its expectancy level.