Knowledge transfer and utilization in IT outsourcing partnerships: A preliminary model of antecedents and outcomes

•We examine the antecedents and outcomes of knowledge transfer and utilization.•Client motivation, vendor willingness and codifiability affect knowledge transfer.•Transferred knowledge and integration mechanisms shape knowledge utilization.•Knowledge utilization is positively related to operational and strategic gains. We developed a nomological network of antecedents and outcomes of knowledge transfer and utilization in IT outsourcing relationships, and tested it using a survey of 146 IT outsourcing partnerships in Singapore. Our findings showed that the characteristics of outsourcing clients, vendors, and knowledge transferred played important roles in facilitating knowledge transfer; the transferred knowledge in conjunction with the knowledge integration mechanisms affected knowledge utilization in client-firms, and that this generated significant operational and strategic performance gains in IT operations. Our findings can aid practitioners determine how to use outsourcing to improve knowledge management in their organization.