Driving and restraining forces in outsourcing relationships - a view through force field analysis

Abstract

The new world of work is marked by collaborations and partnering on both individual and interorganisational level. Companies are increasingly pursuing outsourcing as a means of obtaining access to resources and expert skills to perform specialised core and non-core functions on their behalf. This research was aimed at obtaining greater insight into the norms that become the driving and restraining forces within outsourced relationships, more specifically what drives outsourced service provider behaviours, expectations and perceptions. The role of power was evaluated in conjunction with these forces, as power is integral to all exchanges. Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Analysis model was utilised to identify the driving and restraining forces. This enabled categorisation into contractual and psychological aspects respectively as well as the identification of the respective power bases primarily based on the seminal work of Raven and French (1959). The research showed that the outsourcer holds approximately two thirds of the power in the estimation of the service provider. The psychological elements of the relationship carry a substantially greater weighting with service providers than any of the legal or contractual requirements and the adequacy of processes and infrastructure as is the primary driving and restraining forces within the specific relationships. Reward power and legitimacy of position emerged as the primary sources of power.