6. Conclusions
Several authors have suggested the need to focus on TO as a capability that increases firm performance [19,65,102,121]. However, little is known about how firms can increase the level of this important capability or which resources are relevant. The interest of IT outsourcing for management research is increasing, butlittle is known aboutthe impact of a high level of IT outsourcing on the development of capabilities [123,128]. This study contributes to the literature by shedding light on the effect of a high use of IT vendor support and how this effect depends on the level of IT use and the level of the firm’s IT human capital. A relevant contribution of this research is to show that country context plays an important role in the generation of firm’s capabilities and in the effect of IT outsourcing. Using data from two surveys in the U.S. and Spain, it was found that IT use increases a firm’s TO capability. A high use of IT vendor support also helps create TO capability if the firm has an intensive use ofITs and IT knowledge. The involvement ofthe firm’s personnel in outsourced activities has a positive effect on the TO capability, which allows firms to increase their in-house-retained capabilities and reduce the disadvantages of a high use of IT vendor support. The results contribute with new insights into the complementarity of internal and external resources, focusing on the effect of a high use of IT outsourcing in SMEs in a cross-country study. Results show that the U.S. and Spanish companies differ in their management of IT outsourcing, although, in both countries, advantages are found when it is combined with IT human capital and IT use.
