2015 Volume 21 Issue 2 Pages 89-94
Two major research approaches were developed to be applied in studies of outsourcing: the Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) and the Resource-based View (RBV) of the firm. However, each approach has been developed separately, and it is hard to say that the accumulation of empirical research based on those two viewpoints is much enough. This paper investigates the factors that influence the motives of make-or-buy decisions on information systems from the viewpoints of TCE and RBV. Therefore, using our original questionnaire survey data carried out in 2007 targeting Japanese firms, we analyze the relationships between the recognition related to the role of their information systems and their make-or-buy decisions. As a result, we make it clear that there are two cases in which TCE motives and RBV motives complement or contradict with each other. And the implications for theory and practice are discussed.
