Making Lemonade from Lemons: A Transaction Cost Economics Perspective on Third-Party Disruptions in a Multivendor Information Technology Service.

The article examines how third-party service disruptions affect enterprise customers' use of integrated multivendor IT services, focusing on a case where a third-party GPS tracking service disruption impaired a multivendor Customer Relationship Management (CRM) module without directly affecting first-party services. It finds that during the disruption, customers temporarily increased use of first-party IT modules serving similar goals but reduced overall service use in the long run, even after the third-party service was restored. Importantly, high-quality first-party technical support addressing product-related issues during the disruption encouraged customers to explore and continue using first-party services long term, whereas customer-related support did not have this effect. The study highlights the challenges and strategic opportunities for primary IT vendors in managing customer uncertainty in multivendor environments and underscores the role of targeted technical support in mitigating negative impacts of third-party disruptions.