The Outsourcing of Training and Development: Factors Impacting Client Satisfaction

Firms increasingly use outside vendors to provide their training and development needs. However, the strategic importance of many training programs often introduces unique challenges for organizations outsourcing this function. To better understand the effects of outsourcing in this key area, we use transaction cost economics, social exchange theory, and the resource-based view to identify factors thought to impact client satisfaction with external training vendors. Using data obtained from 157 organizations, structural equation modeling results suggest that socially-oriented trust and contractual specificity mediate the relationship between client satisfaction and a number of vendor, relationship, training, and firm characteristics.