IT Outsourcing in the Public Sector: A Literature Analysis

This article presents an analysis of geographically and disciplinary scattered academic publications on ITO in public organizations. The interdisciplinary scope of public ITO research area is defined, and conceptual approaches of IS and Public Administration research fields to public ITO are compared. Highlighting the impact of certain organizational characteristics on ITO decisions, governance and results makes a contribution to ITO research in general. Consolidation and analysis of diverse findings will benefit both public officials and outsourcing vendors. Finally, the study suggests directions for future research. Discussion on control in outsourced IT projects can be found in the literature belonging to several research disciplines.