Innovation in IT outsourcing, in which client and vendor aim at co-creating strategic innovation, is becoming a key ingredient of contemporary sourcing arrangements. However, innovation in ITO is regarded as being a paradox as innovation’s dynamic nature conflicts with established guidelines for successful ITO governance. To date, knowledge about how to accommodate innovation in ITO governance is embryonic. Particularly unclear are the differential and interaction effects of contractual and relational governance mechanisms on relationship learning and joint innovation. To investigate these effects, we propose and validate a research model through survey data from 344 senior-level IT employees of firms that collaborate with a vendor on strategic innovation. Results indicate that while contractual mechanisms primarily determine joint innovation performance, relational mechanisms are central to relationship learning. Results show an inverted U-shaped relationship between governance mechanisms and joint innovation and an additive complementary relationship between governance mechanisms and relationship learning.

客户和供应商共同致力于战略创新的IT外包创新正在成为当代采购安排的重要组成部分。但是，ITO的创新被视为悖论，因为创新的动态性质与成功的ITO治理的既定准则相冲突。迄今为止，有关如何在ITO治理中进行创新的知识尚处于萌芽状态。契约和关系治理机制对关系学习和联合创新的差异和相互作用影响尤其不清楚。为了调查这些影响，我们通过与344位与供应商合作进行战略创新的公司的高层IT员工的调查数据，提出并验证了一种研究模型。结果表明，虽然合同机制主要决定联合创新绩效，但关系机制对于关系学习至关重要。结果表明，治理机制与联合创新之间呈倒U型关系，治理机制与关系学习之间呈加性互补关系。