The Influence of Familiarity within Teams on the Performance of IT Outsourcing Projects

The influence of familiarity within project teams on project performance has been analyzed quite extensively in literature. However, it remains unclear how the concentration of familiarity among the project members influences project performance. To address this research gap, we analyzed a large project dataset from an information technology outsourcing (ITO) vendor applying regression modelling. We argue that a high concentration of familiarity leads to the emergence of subgroups within teams. As expected, we find that the average familiarity of a team has a positive influence on project performance, but we also find that a higher concentration of familiarity positively influences project performance. Our findings are limited by the fact that we employed a dataset from only one vendor. We contribute to theory by extending the knowledge on team familiarity and on project performance of ITO vendors. Additionally, we contribute to practice by showing that the concentration of familiarity should be considered during the staffing of projects. This is the first paper that considers the influence of the concentration of familiarity among the project team members on project performance.     «

The influence of familiarity within project teams on project performance has been analyzed quite extensively in literature. However, it remains unclear how the concentration of familiarity among the project members influences project performance. To address this research gap, we analyzed a large project dataset from an information technology outsourcing (ITO) vendor applying regression modelling. We argue that a high concentration of familiarity leads to the emergence of subgroups within teams....     »