Exploring the factors that influence the success of insourced government ict projects

Abstract

This paper explores information system insourcing in selected government agencies in Malaysia and discusses the challenges and barriers that have impeded its implementation. The paucity of similar projects and limited literature has resulted in this study that considers a post outsourcing context following the decision to insource a major Malaysian Government Information System in 2011. A qualitative research study was conducted in a selected government agency, obtaining empirical evidence from 55 semi-structured interviews with government servants from top management to clerical staffincluding the users of the government information system. By using a combination of institutional theory and the capability approach to analyse the data, we found that insourcing reduced costs, provided a means to access new technologies and enhanced skills in the internal development team, despite challenges such as data centralization, HRMIS technical training and skill, resources for training, perception, government policies and regulations, and lack of expertise. These findings will be of interest to the information system research community interested in insourcing information system support.