Research Area: Cloud Security
Looking into the topic of cloud sourcing, at first glance it might be seen as an off the shelf pay per use service that is easy and fast to adopt for most companies. Although in practice not all companies succeed with cloud sourcing. Previous research shows that cloud sourcing entails risks especially in the adoption phase in terms of security, trust, data loss, and transparency among others. The challenges faced by cloud customers and in specific larger companies are extensive; and can be all but cost effective. Companies that decide to cloud source need to understand that it is not only a service delivery model, but also perhaps a long term business relationship that can offer benefits beyond the cloud basics (scalability, cost reduction, flexibility). To address these complex challenges, more research is necessary on the barriers to cloud sourcing, capabilities to overcome these barriers and stay in the cloud successfully.
The cloud continuance process is argued to be a stage-based model enabling different types of innovations implicating various levels of competitive advantage, e.g., depending on how the cloud customer together with the other partners in cloud sourcing manages to develop the business relationship development process. Findings in this research suggest that dynamic capabilities in different forms can sense, seize and transform cloud sourcing into innovations and affect competitive advantage in the long run through new business models, market expansion, and new services. From a practical perspective the research can inform managers about common implementation problems when transitioning to cloud sourcing, and help them prepare for this process.
Name of the Researcher: Mirella Muhić
Name of the Supervisor(s): Nicolette Lakemond
Year of Completion: 2019
University: Lund University
Thesis Link: Home Page Url
