ACHIEVING HIGH COMMITMENT IN AND OF SOURCING DECISIONS – A DECISION-MAKING PARADOX

Abstract

This paper describes a sourcing decision process and how that process is done in order to achieve high commitment in and of sourcing decisions. It can be stated that it is important with high commitment in and of sourcing decisions for the process as well as the result to be successful. The study uses a decision-making process in a Swedish municipality to describe the importance of having high commitment and how high commitment can be achieved. The sourcing decision process was a decision-making process where the final result was an internal reorganisation in the municipality regarding hosting of software applications. From an outsourcing point of view this can be described as internal outsourcing. The structure of the hosting was before the decision highly decentralised. The objective and the goal of the decision were to centralise hosting of software applications. There was weak motivation for changing the structure and thereby low commitment among involved stakeholders at the start of the process. The case shows how the decision-makers conducted the decision-making process in order to increase commitment of the already taken decision. That the decision already was taken at the start of the process indicates that the decision could be described as a decision-making paradox. From the case it can be concluded that the decision-making process was successful and that the high commitment existing after the process indicates that the outcome of the decision will have high potential to be successful as well.