Leveraging IT Capabilities and Competitive Process Capabilities for the Management of Interorganizational Relationship Portfolios.

Author List: Rai, Arun; Tang, Xinlin;
Information Systems Research, 2010, Volume 21, Issue 3, Page 516-542.
Firms are increasingly dependent on external resources and are establishing portfolios of interorganizational relationships (IRs) to leverage external resources for competitive advantage. However, the systems of information technology (IT) and process capabilities that firms should develop to manage IR portfolios dynamically are not well-understood. In order to theorize how key structural IT capabilities (IT integration and IT reconfiguration) and competitive process capabilities (process alignment, partnering flexibility, and offering flexibility) operate as systems of complements, we draw on the competitive dynamics perspective and resource dependency theory and on the literature for IT business value, interorganizational systems, and interorganizational relationship management. We also theorize how a firm's IR portfolio moderates the effects of structural IT capabilities on competitive process capabilities and why a firm's environmental turbulence moderates the effects of complementary process capabilities on competitive performance. We test our model using survey data from 318 firms in 4 industries. Our results provide broad support for the following: (1) structural IT capabilities and process capabilities operating as a system of complements, (2) the effects of structural IT capabilities on competitive process capabilities being contingent on IR portfolio concentration, and (3) the effects of complementary process capabilities on competitive performance being contingent on environmental turbulence. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of how firms should develop complementary systems of structural IT capabilities and competitive process capabilities to manage IR portfolios dynamically and leverage external resources.
Keywords: competitive dynamics perspective; competitive performance; competitive process capabilities; complementarities; interorganizational relationships; IT business value; relationship portfolios; structural IT capabilities
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#59 0.441 capabilities capability firm firms performance resources business information technology firm's resource-based competitive it-enabled view study value infrastructure results organizational model
#36 0.160 competitive advantage strategic systems information sustainable sustainability dynamic opportunities capabilities environments environmental turbulence turbulent dynamics key quest create sustained ability
#69 0.081 process business reengineering processes bpr redesign paper research suggests provide past improvements manage enable organizations regarding focal cycle creating issues
#162 0.073 structural modeling scale equation implications economies large future framework perspective propose broad scope resulting identified leading analyzed second interviews analysis
#285 0.070 effects effect research data studies empirical information literature different interaction analysis implications findings results important set large provide using paper
#117 0.057 standards interorganizational ios standardization standard systems compatibility effects cooperation firms industry benefits open interoperability key heterogeneous vertical propose vendors collective
#25 0.054 relationships relationship relational information interfirm level exchange relations perspective model paper interpersonal expertise theory study effects literature role social identify