[article]
Titre : |
Contingent effects of quality signaling : Evidence from the indian offshore IT services industry |
Type de document : |
texte imprimé |
Auteurs : |
Guodong (Gordon) Gao, Auteur ; Anandasivam Gopal, Auteur ; Ritu Agarwal, Auteur |
Année de publication : |
2010 |
Article en page(s) : |
pp. 1012-1029 |
Note générale : |
Management |
Langues : |
Anglais (eng) |
Mots-clés : |
Signaling Certification CMM Outsourcing |
Index. décimale : |
658 Organisation des entreprises. Techniques du commerce |
Résumé : |
We examine the heterogeneous returns to third-party quality signals in the context of the Indian software services industry. Prior theory has argued that quality certification is important in markets characterized by information asymmetry. However, there is limited understanding of the contingent factors that influence the efficacy of the quality signal. We focus on capability maturity model (CMM) certification, which is granted on the basis of a rigorous audit of software vendor's internal quality-oriented software construction practices, as a signal of unobservable quality. Drawing upon prior research in strategy and economics, we theorize that the impacts of CMM certification on a vendor's export performance are conditional on factors reflecting the vendor's strategy (diversification and location) and its competitive environment (the extent of CMM penetration in the vendor's competition). Analysis of panel data supports our predictions related to the contingent value of CMM certification, and shows that a software service provider gains more from certification in terms of its software exports when its service offerings are diversified, when it chooses to locate away from a cluster of other software service firms, and when the extent of CMM penetration in the competition is low. This study extends prior research in the information value of a quality signal on a firm's demand side that has, for the most part, focused solely on direct effects. We discuss the implications of our findings for the strategic trade-offs that managers of software service firms need to make. |
DEWEY : |
658 |
ISSN : |
0025-1909 |
En ligne : |
http://mansci.journal.informs.org/content/56/6.toc |
in Management science > Vol. 56 N° 6 (Juin 2010) . - pp. 1012-1029
[article] Contingent effects of quality signaling : Evidence from the indian offshore IT services industry [texte imprimé] / Guodong (Gordon) Gao, Auteur ; Anandasivam Gopal, Auteur ; Ritu Agarwal, Auteur . - 2010 . - pp. 1012-1029. Management Langues : Anglais ( eng) in Management science > Vol. 56 N° 6 (Juin 2010) . - pp. 1012-1029
Mots-clés : |
Signaling Certification CMM Outsourcing |
Index. décimale : |
658 Organisation des entreprises. Techniques du commerce |
Résumé : |
We examine the heterogeneous returns to third-party quality signals in the context of the Indian software services industry. Prior theory has argued that quality certification is important in markets characterized by information asymmetry. However, there is limited understanding of the contingent factors that influence the efficacy of the quality signal. We focus on capability maturity model (CMM) certification, which is granted on the basis of a rigorous audit of software vendor's internal quality-oriented software construction practices, as a signal of unobservable quality. Drawing upon prior research in strategy and economics, we theorize that the impacts of CMM certification on a vendor's export performance are conditional on factors reflecting the vendor's strategy (diversification and location) and its competitive environment (the extent of CMM penetration in the vendor's competition). Analysis of panel data supports our predictions related to the contingent value of CMM certification, and shows that a software service provider gains more from certification in terms of its software exports when its service offerings are diversified, when it chooses to locate away from a cluster of other software service firms, and when the extent of CMM penetration in the competition is low. This study extends prior research in the information value of a quality signal on a firm's demand side that has, for the most part, focused solely on direct effects. We discuss the implications of our findings for the strategic trade-offs that managers of software service firms need to make. |
DEWEY : |
658 |
ISSN : |
0025-1909 |
En ligne : |
http://mansci.journal.informs.org/content/56/6.toc |
|