Managing the ASP process: a resource‐oriented taxonomy

Application service providers (ASPs) represent the new wave of business information technology delivery. However, there is little formal literature that helps us understand the distinctions among different ASP‐client relationships and how they need to be managed. This paper adopts a socio‐technical perspective to distinguish among ASP relationships. This distinction is based on the levels of organizational change that the ASP relationship will evoke. This paper then proposes levels of resource allocation that best “fit” each type of relationship. Three specific resources important to ASP‐client relationships are economic outlays, social networks, and knowledge. The model developed in this paper provides academics and practitioners with a tool with which to diagnose the capabilities of a prospective ASP and a model for making resource allocation decisions once the ASP is selected. It raises empirical questions for researchers with regard to resource allocations that best fit specific levels of organizational change following an ASP adoption.