Virtual Network organizations and e-Procurement: A New Outsourcing Perspective

The make-or-buy dilemma represents one of the most important topic in the IS research field. The IT function, in fact, has been one of the first business areas to be outsourced. In this paper, we consider the outsourcing process not only as an economic decision driven by efficacy or efficiency but a real strategic move, driven by new business scenarios. In this new perspective, we consider ICT as a main factor enabling this change, where outsourcing is no longer a one-to-one relationship between two actors who regulate their transaction by a contract which establish terms and conditions of the exchange, but a one-to-X relationship where the outsourcing process is mediated by a technological interface such as the electronic marketplace which establish terms and condition of any transaction regulating the participation to e-marketplace