An Empirical Study of Information Technology Capabilities to Enable Value Chain Activities and Interfaces

2023 | Information Systems Frontiers | Citations: 0

Authors: Chou, Yen-Chun; Shao, Benjamin B. M.

Abstract: Information technology (IT) is a critical resource and asset for a firm’s intern ... Expand

Abstract: Information technology (IT) is a critical resource and asset for a firm’s internal operations and external interactions with outside stakeholders. This paper explores IT capabilities that enable a retailer’s value chain activities and interfaces with suppliers and customers. IT capabilities that enable the value chain activities of logistics and operations as well as those of marketing and sales are identified to examine how they influence a retailer’s implementation of value chain interfaces. Through the lens of organizational information processing theory (OIPT), we find that both IT capabilities and IT infrastructure play a pivotal role in implementing value chain interfaces but in distinctive ways. On the supplier-facing side, a retailer’s IT infrastructure and IT capabilities enabling logistics and operations are essential to its vendor-managed inventory (VMI) system. On the customer-facing side, a retailer’s e-commerce website requires IT infrastructure and IT capabilities that enable marketing and sales. Moreover, synergies are found downstream for e-commerce website that benefits from the integration of IT infrastructure and IT capabilities enabling logistics and operations while such synergies are not found upstream for VMI. This partial complementary effect is explicated by the sequential asymmetric information dependency of value chain activities. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for the research and practice of IT enablement and integration. Collapse

Topics: information technology capability electronic commerce website information technology infrastructure logistics management

Methods: survey chi squared test descriptive statistic econometric modeling regression analysis method

Theories: organizational information processing theory

Operationalization of Configuration Analysis in Interorganizational Information Systems Research: A Research Journey

2023 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Frick, Norbert

Abstract: Configuration analysis is still an under-developed tool for researchers to inves ... Expand

Abstract: Configuration analysis is still an under-developed tool for researchers to investigate interorganizational information systems (IOIS) and the forms of interorganizational integration that are supported by IOIS. In our attempt to explain observed phenomena in a target industry we applied configuration analysis proposed by Lyytinen and Damsgaard in their position paper from 2011 on an industry level. We operationalized the conceptual idea of configuration analysis in a research design defining research paradigm, type of reasoning, research goals, unit of analysis and research methods to make it feasible for IOIS research. Our findings indicate that our operationalization of configuration analysis is suitable for research fields in IOIS that have no or hardly any empirical groundwork to observe phenomena and hypothesize about the mechanics leading to the existence of the phenomena. Collapse

Topics: database system interorganizational system electronic data interchange

Methods: literature study qualitative interview personal interview literature sample triangulation

Control enactment in context: Understanding the interaction of controlee and controller perceptions in inter-organisational project teams

2023 | Information Systems Journal | Citations: 0

Authors: McCarthy, Stephen; O'Raghallaigh, Paidi; Li, Yuzhu; Adam, Frédéric

Abstract: Control is necessary for aligning the actions of management (i.e., controllers) ... Expand

Abstract: Control is necessary for aligning the actions of management (i.e., controllers) and subordinates (i.e., controlees) around common goals. The enactment of control often fails in practice; however, as controlee perceptions may not match those of controllers, leading to a myriad of possible outcomes. Through an interpretive case study of two inter-organisational IT projects, we reveal how controlees' appraisals and responses to controls are context-dependent and play out across multiple levels (e.g., personal, professional, project and organisational contexts). We build on a coping perspective of IS controls to theorise the ‘coping strategies’ that controlees pursued relevant to these contexts and the ‘coping routes’ followed when combining different consecutive coping strategies. We find the process need not end with the selection of a single strategy but can potentially continue as both the controller and controlees make ongoing readjustments. While Behavioural Control Theory traditionally assumes the presence of a single control hierarchy, interorganisational IT projects are multi-level entities that amalgamate different structures and cultures. Our study moves beyond the existing assumptions of Behavioural Control Theory to discuss how a controller's choice of activities shapes the salience of different contexts in controlee appraisals. Collapse

Topics: IT project interorganizational system organizational context electronic health systems development

Methods: case study theory development conceptual modelling qualitative interview theoretical contribution

Theories: control theory

Envisioning Digital Transformation: Advancing Theoretical Diversity

2023 | Journal of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Rowe, Frantz; Markus, M. Lynne

Abstract: ... Expand

Abstract: Collapse

Topics: digital transformation sensemaking internet of things robotic process automation digital innovation

Methods: theory development theoretical contribution literature study business process modeling grounded theory

Theories: theory of change strategic management theory complexity theory organizational behavior theory

Value co-creation for digital innovation: An interorganizational boundary-spanning perspective

2023 | Information & Management | Citations: 0

Authors: Shi, Yunfei; Cui, Tingru; Kurnia, Sherah

Abstract: Despite the enthusiasm for engaging in interorganizational collaboration to enab ... Expand

Abstract: Despite the enthusiasm for engaging in interorganizational collaboration to enable digital product innovation, firms often face challenges in integrating knowledge across organizational boundaries. Our research examines how collaborating firms use Interorganizational Systems (IOS) tools and project coordinators to overcome knowledge boundaries in different types of ideation tasks. Drawing on boundary-spanning theory, we concep­ tualize IOS tools as boundary objects, project coordinators as boundary spanners, and the interdependence of ideation tasks as moderators of the impacts of boundary objects and spanners on knowledge integration. Our findings suggest that IOS tools help overcome syntax and semantic knowledge boundaries by transferring and sharing information when the interdependence of idea implementation tasks is high, and project coordinators help overcome pragmatic knowledge boundaries by building reciprocity of innovation participants when the interdependence of idea generation tasks is high. Our research contributes to value co-creation literature by developing a boundary-spanning mechanism to explain the roles of boundary objects and boundary spanners in overcoming different knowledge boundaries to enable digital product innovation at the inter-firm level. Collapse

Topics: innovation management digital innovation task interdependence idea generation boundary spanning

Methods: survey design methodology qualitative interview survey design post-hoc analysis

Theories: boundary objects theory

Electronic marketplaces under conditions of oligopsony and relational marketing – an empirical exploration of electronic agricultural markets in India

2022 | Electronic Markets | Citations: 0

Authors: Argade, Aashish; Laha, Arnab Kumar; Jaiswal, Anand Kumar

Abstract: Benefits of electronic marketplaces across diverse, largely consumer-facing, com ... Expand

Abstract: Benefits of electronic marketplaces across diverse, largely consumer-facing, competitive industries have been in the form of lower transaction costs, transparent price discovery, and improved coordination. This article explores the benefits of electronic marketplaces under oligopsony, which generally encompasses relational marketing as well. With producer – first handler agricultural markets as the context, the article draws from literature on electronic marketplaces, transaction costs, and seller-buyer dependence. Based on survey data, an exploratory factor analysis is conducted to understand the elements of relational marketing between farmers and traders. Subsequently, transaction costs of marketing in a physical agricultural marketplace are compared with those in its electronic counterpart. Results did not indicate significant reduction in transaction costs in the e-marketplaces. Reasons for such findings are logically deduced to be a consequence of opportunistic traders not sharing marketing-related information with farmers, notwithstanding dependence of the latter on traders for such informational needs. Implications for policymakers, third-party electronic marketplace providers are discussed for the specific context, besides indicators for similar other market structures. Collapse

Topics: marketing management electronic market perceived usefulness interorganizational system

Methods: exploratory factor analysis data transformation survey Mann Whitney U test descriptive statistic

Theories: transaction cost economics technology acceptance model

Performance of Accountable Care Organizations: Health Information Technology and Quality–Efficiency Trade-Offs

2022 | Information Systems Research | Citations: 0

Authors: Bao, Chenzhang; Bardhan, Indranil R.

Abstract: Accountable care organizations (ACOs) were established under the Affordable Care ... Expand

Abstract: Accountable care organizations (ACOs) were established under the Affordable Care Act to address systemic problems afflicting the U.S. healthcare system related to high costs and poor quality issues. ACOs represent groups of healthcare providers that are responsible for coordinating patient care with the goal of improving health outcomes for their patient population. To develop a better understanding of the role of health information technology (IT) in a value-based care environment, we study (a) whether there are potential trade-offs between ACO efficiency and quality and (b) whether effective use of health IT enables ACOs to balance competing efficiency and quality objectives. We test our models with a nationwide sample of ACO data using a two-stage approach based on data envelopment analysis and econometric estimation. We observe that efficient ACOs do not make trade-offs with respect to healthcare quality, compared with inefficient ACOs. Furthermore, we observe that hospitals that participated in ACOs, and used IT effectively for care coordination with other providers, exhibited a positive association between efficiency and quality. ACOs with higher levels of meaningful use achievement of health IT demonstrate better patient health outcomes because of greater information integration with other care providers. Our findings imply that value-based incentives alone are not sufficient to resolve trade-offs between healthcare quality and efficiency, and healthcare policy needs to incorporate appropriate incentives to foster effective IT use for health information sharing and care coordination between healthcare providers. Collapse

Topics: information system use health information system healthcare data information exchange database system

Methods: longitudinal research econometric modeling robustness check survey trade-off analysis method

Nested Configurations of Interorganizational Information Systems: Observations in the German Furniture Industry

2022 | HICSS | Citations: 2

Authors: Frick, Norbert

Abstract: Interorganizational information systems (IOIS) support inter-company processes i ... Expand

Abstract: Interorganizational information systems (IOIS) support inter-company processes in the German furniture industry for more than 25 years. Still, there are deficiencies in process integration and differences in IOIS infrastructures. New market participants struggle to adopt the right IOIS for their purposes. Current adoption models lack to understand and manage IOIS adoption on an industry level. Lyytinen and Damsgaard's configurational analysis for IOIS adoption considers enterprise networks as configurations of interorganizational integration that correspond to a stable pattern of cooperation forms. The configuration analysis is applied in the German furniture industry to identify and explain factors that influence an IOIS adoption decision and constitute stable IOIS configurations. Data collection in two industry segments shows four configuration types in 17 configurations characterized by 39 influencing factors. New market participants must consider the adoption of several IOIS at once in so-called nested configurations to gain access to all relevant exchange relations. Collapse

Topics: data management interorganizational relationship interorganizational system

Methods: qualitative interview literature study personal interview multiple case study cluster analysis

Power and conflict in inter-organisational information systems development

2022 | Information Systems Journal | Citations: 0

Authors: Hekkala, Riitta; Stein, Mari-Klara; Sarker, Suprateek

Abstract: The need for inter-organisational information systems projects, which are comple ... Expand

Abstract: The need for inter-organisational information systems projects, which are complex undertakings often riddled with poorly understood power struggles and conflicts that hinder project success, has increased in previous decades. Through the lenses of systemic and episodic power, together with an organisational conflict model, this longitudinal, qualitative case study explores the dynamics of power and conflict and their effects in an inter-organisational information systems development project. This study highlights that the bureaucratic, social and technical setup of the project forms a foundational system from which specific power practices emerge, in this case, the practices of hiding, storytelling and bargaining. The power practices have both restrictive and productive effects on conflict, but the practices cannot easily escape the confines of the foundational system and continue to cause the resurfacing of different manifestations of latent conflict inherent in the system. As a result, both ‘power to’ (systemic power) and ‘power over’ (episodic power) can escalate project conflict, and rational conflict management for gaining ‘win-win’ resolutions may not be in the stakeholders' interests. Thus, strategies for openly managing political conflicts should be considered. Collapse

Topics: systems development strategic management pseudonymity IT project interorganizational system

Methods: qualitative interview case study longitudinal research theoretical contribution literature study

Digital assemblages, information infrastructures, and mobile knowledge work

2022 | Journal of Information Technology | Citations: 3

Authors: Jarrahi, Mohammad Hossein; Sawyer, Steve; Erickson, Ingrid

Abstract: We theorize mobile knowledge workers' uses of digital and material resources in ... Expand

Abstract: We theorize mobile knowledge workers' uses of digital and material resources in support of their working practices. We do so to advance current conceptualizations of both "information infrastructures" and "digital assemblages" as elements of contemporary knowledge work. We focus on mobile knowledge workers as they are (increasingly) self-employed (e.g., as freelancers, entrepreneurs, temporary workers, and contractors), competing for work, and collaborating with others: one likely future of work that we can study empirically. To pursue their work, mobile knowledge workers draw together collections of commodity digital technologies or digital assemblages (e.g., laptops, phones, public WiFi, cloud storage, and apps), relying on a reservoir of knowledge about new and emergent means to navigate this professional terrain. We find that digital assemblages are created and repurposed by workers in their infrastructuring practices and in response to mobility demands and technological environments. In their constitution, they are generative to both collaborative and organizational goals. Building from this, we theorize that digital assemblages, as individuated forms of information infrastructure, sustain stability and internal cohesion even as they allow for openness and generativity. Collapse

Topics: information technology infrastructure knowledge work mobile application wireless LAN information system use

Methods: qualitative interview diary study theory development survey qualitative coding

Theories: structuration theory