Indigena Solutions, Tensions in an Aboriginal IT Impact Sourcing Firm

Ron Babin, Brian Nicholson, Megan Young

OAI: oai:igi-global.com:238617 • DOI: 10.4018/JGIM.2020040109

This paper explores the role of cultural tensions in the operations of an Information Technology Impact Sourcing (ITIS) venture called Indigena Solutions. The company was based in Vancouver Canada and was intended to provide meaningful careers to a marginalized group, namely Canadian Indigenous Peoples. The company provided on-shore IT services such as help-desk support and software testing. With the support of Accenture and with initial success at high profile clients such as BC Hydro and Vancouver City Trust, the company lasted about seven years. Indigena was declared bankrupt in 2017. This research demonstrates the cultural tensions inherent in creating an Impact Sourcing venture, with challenges of location, the inability to attract Indigenous workers to a non-traditional career, and the underlying challenge of structural racism, despite the recognized social responsibility and commitment to help a marginalized group. The research was designed as a case study using an interpretive approach. The originality of this research rests on the exploration of why Impact Sourcing in a developed country failed to meet the needs of the marginalized Indigenous Peoples community. This research contributes to the body of work that explains tensions inherent in ITIS. Practitioners may find this research valuable as they consider the challenges of establishing and successfully operating an ITIS firm.

Global Information Technology Computer Science and Information Technology IT Research and Theory