Towards Design Principles for Governance of Complex Multisourcing in IT services ecosystem

Organisations outsource their digital transformation initiatives to access specialised expertise, expedite implementation, and optimise cost efficiency by choosing from multiple outsourcing models in IT services. One of such models is multisourcing that offers flexibility and efficient cost structures. However, the effective governance of multi-sourced IT services also poses significant challenges. In particular, the integration of governance mechanisms is complex in multisourcing and there is a notable gap in research regarding how organisations can effectively manage and monitor multiple suppliers to create a regime of coopetition between the vendors. This short paper highlights the need for effectively governing complex multisourcing in IT services ecosystem. Our research-in-progress aims to use Design Science Research methodology to develop design principles tailored to multisourcing contexts. This approach seeks to address the multifaceted factors and complexities involved in multisourcing, and thereby contributing to both academic literature and industry best practices in IT services ecosystem.