IT-Enabled Coordination for Ambidextrous Interorganizational Relationships

Author List: Im, Ghiyoung; Rai, Arun;
Information Systems Research, 2014, Volume 25, Issue 1, Page 72-92.
Contextual ambidexterity of an interorganizational relationship (IOR) is the ability of its management system to align partners' activities and resources for short-term goals and adapt partners' cognitions and actions for long-term viability. It is an alternative to structural ambidexterity in which separate units of the IOR pursue short- and long-term goals. We theorize that when utilized to coordinate the IOR, information technology (IT)-enabled operations and sensemaking, along with interdependent decision making, promote the IOR's contextual ambidexterity. We test our hypotheses on both sides of a customer-vendor relationship using data collected from (1) the account executives of one of the world's largest supply chain vendors (<i>n</i> = 76) and (2) its customers (<i>n</i> = 238). We find commonalities and differences in the influence coordination mechanisms have on contextual ambidexterity from the vendor's and the customer's perspectives. For both customers and vendors, contextual ambidexterity improves the quality and performance of the relationship, and decision interdependence promotes contextual ambidexterity. For customers, using operations support systems (OSSs) and interpretation support systems (ISSs) enhances contextual ambidexterity. For vendors, the impact of both OSS use and ISS use on contextual ambidexterity depends on the duration of the relationship. Our study shows that IT-enabled operations and sensemaking are key enablers of IOR ambidexterity and that vendors should combine these IT capabilities with relationship-specific knowledge that accumulates with relationship duration.
Keywords: interorganizational relationships;interorganizational systems;contextual ambidexterity;coordination;decision interdependence;sensemaking;operations support systems;interpretation support systems;relationship duration
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#52 0.157 supply chain information suppliers supplier partners relationships integration use chains technology interorganizational sharing systems procurement buyer interfirm coordination enterprises flexibility
#156 0.115 ethical ethics ambidexterity responsibility codes moral judgments code behavior professional act abuse judgment professionals morality effect issues unethical intentions personal
#47 0.106 outsourcing vendor client sourcing vendors clients relationship firms production mechanisms duration mode outsourced vendor's effort activities in-house managing technology domestic
#189 0.097 recommendations recommender systems preferences recommendation rating ratings preference improve users frame contextual using frames sensemaking filtering manipulation specific collaborative items
#288 0.096 customer customers crm relationship study loyalty marketing management profitability service offer retention it-enabled web-based interactions operations sales strategy channels set
#68 0.090 business units study unit executives functional managers technology linkage need areas information long-term operations plans mission large understand knowledge current
#59 0.080 capabilities capability firm firms performance resources business information technology firm's resource-based competitive it-enabled view study value infrastructure results organizational model
#165 0.064 uncertainty contingency integration environmental theory data fit key using model flexibility perspective environment perspectives high conditions processing examine issue uncertain
#113 0.060 support decision dss systems guidance process making environments decisional users features capabilities provide decision-making user paper findings systems.decision components computer-based
#204 0.053 goals goal research setting achieve accounting behavior multiple meet make constraints differing ability particularly association set single conflicting promotes and/or