1 CONTRACTUAL AND RELATIONAL GOVERNANCE OF SOFTWARE OUTSOURCING PROJECTS: A PROPOSED

Organizations are under increasing pressure to exhibit the value of their outsourcing. However, previous IS outsourcing research studies failed to provide evidence on how IT client-provider relationships should be managed to ensure outsourcing success. This article draws on theories of transaction cost and social exchange to develop a model examining outsourcing relationship governance mechanisms. Important determinants of contractual and relational governance and the effectiveness of the control mechanisms on relational outcomes, opportunism and commitment, are examined. This research agenda may theoretically extend IS outsourcing research by incorporating a framework to explore outsourcing relationship management and to practically explain software outsourcing phenomenon