Minimizing Complementors’ Risk in Third-Party Innovation: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) of Digital Platform Configurations

The emergence of platforms is shifting the locus of digital innovation to ecosystems on which numerous developers create extensions with additional functionalities. Despite all the potential benefits for complementors, however, this new organizing logic of digital innovation also introduced essential new risks. Recent studies in IS focused on risk of IT projects from a contingency perspective neglecting the complexity of ecosystems. In order to shed light on this, our work examines how app architecture as a complementor´s control mechanism and four types of ecosystem hazards shape the likelihood and impact of the risk of failure in third-party innovation. By using a configurational approach based on fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (FsQCA), we display complex interactional effects of the causal conditions on complementors’ perception of hazardous environments and thus provide valuable insights for both practice and theory on platform ecosystems

Information technology-enabled explorative learning and competitive performance in industrial service SMEs: a configurational analysis

This is the author accepted manuscriptPurpose: As purveyors of knowledge-based and high value-added services to the manufacturing sector, industrial service small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must develop the information technology (IT) capabilities that, in combination with other non-IT capabilities, enable their capacity for organizational learning (OL) and for explorative learning in particular. In this context, this study aims to identify the different causal configurations that account for the nonlinear complex interplay of IT capabilities for exploration and strategic capabilities for explorative learning as they affect these firms’ competitive performance. Design/methodology/approach: Survey data obtained from 92 industrial service SMEs were analyzed with a configurational approach, using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Findings: As it allows for equifinality, the fsQCA analysis identified two sets of causal configurations that characterize the sampled firms’ explorative learning capability as it relates to competitive performance. In the first set, two configurations were equally associated with high innovation performance, whereas in the second set, four configurations were equally associated with high productivity. Originality/value: By viewing explorative learning as a dynamic capability that is enabled by the firm’s IT and strategic capabilities, the study contributes to OL theory by providing a more concrete or “operational” grounding, which allows for a greater practical applicability of this theory. By taking both the configurational and capability-based views of the OL-IT-performance causal framework, the authors provide an empirical basis for unraveling, explaining and understanding the complex non-linear relationships embedded within this framework

An implementation-based approach to SHRM: the concept of hr practice intensity and its relationship

The present work intends to open new avenues for research under this implementation-based approach. In an exploratory analysis, we propose and test a type of measure, the intensity of HR practices implementation at the individual level, that has been barely used in the HRM-performance literature (Boselie et al, 2005; Paauwe and Boselie, 2005; Dorenbosch and Van Veldhoven, 2006). To this purpose, we work over the complete ERP-based datasets of two companies from different industries (banking and IT) which comprise the quantification of the impact of a set of HR practices on an individual employee level.

Data Liquidity: Conceptualization, Measurement and Determinants

Despite the rhetoric that “data is the new oil” organizations continue to face challenges in data monetization, and we don’t have a reliable way to measure how easily data assets can be reused and recombined in value creation and appropriation efforts. Data asset liquidity is a critical, yet underexamined, prerequisite for data monetization initiatives. We contribute to the theorizing process by advancing a definition, conceptualization, and measurement of data liquidity as an asset level construct. Based on interviews with 95 Chief Data and Analytics Officers from 67 distinct large global organizations, we identify three determinants of data liquidity: inherent asset characteristics, structural asset characteristics, and asset environment characteristics. We theorize the existence of equifinal configurations that yield liquid data assets, configurations that should prove helpful to academics and practitioners seeking to understand data liquidity and its impact on firms’ data monetization efforts as well as society at large

Examining the anatomy of last-mile distribution in e-commerce omnichannel retailing: A supply network configuration approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the interplay between configuration dimensions (network structure, network flow, relationship governance, and service architecture) of last-mile supply networks (LMSN) and the underlying mechanisms influencing omnichannel performance.Design/methodology/approachBased on mixed-method design incorporating a multiple embedded case study, mapping, survey, and archival records, this research involved undertaking in-depth within- and cross-case analyses to examine seven LMSNs, employing a configuration approach.FindingsThe existing literature in the operations management (OM) field was shown to provide limited understanding of LMSNs within the emerging omnichannel context. Case results suggest that particular configurations have intrinsic capabilities, and that these directly influence omnichannel performance. The study further proposes a taxonomy of LMSNs comprising six forms, with two hybrids, supporting the notion of equifinality in configuration theory. Propositions are developed to further explore interdependencies between configurational attributes, refining the relationship between LMSN types, and factors influencing omnichannel performance.Practical implicationsThe findings provide retailers with a set of design parameters for the (re)configuration of LMSNs and facilitate performance evaluation using the concept of fit between configurational attributes. The developed model sheds light on the consequential effects when certain configurational attributes are altered, preempting managerial attention. Given the global trend in urbanization, improved LMSN performance would have positive societal impacts in terms of service and resource efficiency.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies in the OM field to critically analyze LMSNs and their behaviors in omnichannel retailing. Additionally, the paper offers several important avenues for future research.</jats:sec

Dynamic Capabilities in Information Systems Research: A Critical Review, Synthesis of Current Knowledge, and Recommendations for Future Research

Over the past twenty years, the dynamic capabilities view (DCV) has gained prominence in the IS field as a theoretical perspective from which to explain competitive advantage in turbulent environments. While there are quite a few review studies of dynamic capabilities (DCs) in the strategic management domain, research on DCs in the IS area has not been synthesized nor critically analyzed. The result is that the role that IT plays in the DCV remains largely ambiguous, and the way we think and conduct IS research on DCs is unquestioned. Addressing this, we conducted a critical review of DCs in IS research based on 136 papers. Our review provides a synthesis of contemporary knowledge on DCs that emphasizes the role of IT in this research, and a critical analysis of the assumptions underlying this literature. In addition, we develop a minimum DC definition for future research as a solution to the conceptual issues that we uncovered via the critical analysis. We further leverage the remaining findings of our critical review by providing a detailed research agenda for future investigations on DCs by IS scholars

How enterprises manage strategic stability and change: A qualitative comparative analysis of different enterprise performance groups

In today’s globalized business world enterprises face increasing competition and accompanying internal and external threats that challenge their enterprise strategies. Multiple examples of enterprises show that long-lasting strategies need to be progressively overworked in order to secure competitiveness. One key for long-term competitiveness seems to lie in the ability to find a reasonable ratio of strategic stability and change. Neglecting the tension of strategic stability and change can have fatal consequences. Strategic management research increasingly focuses on this challenge. Lately research on ambidexterity and dynamic capability attempts to explain the underlying issues of proactively balancing strategic tensions in dynamic markets. Yet, there remain a couple of questions that – unanswered – limit the explanatory power of recent research models. Because of conceptual ambiguities around the concepts of ambidexterity and dynamic capabilities, until now it remains unclear how a balance between strategic stability and change is reached and managed, and how the underlying strategic decision and strategic management processes at the organizational level look like. To address these open issues, this work develops an alternative framework of strategic ambidexterity. It is defined as a deliberate mechanism to detect, monitor, steer, coordinate and balance stability and change of the enterprise strategy. It argues that enterprises do not deal with strategic stability and change accidently. Quite on the contrary, the enterprises’ key actors are aware of this challenge and have a mechanism in place that allows them to deliberately and continuously employ the right ratio of strategic stability and change. This deliberate mechanism is assumed to create performance differences. High-performing enterprises have a particular setting of the mechanism that distinguishes them from low-performing peers and that secures their long-term competitiveness. In order to empirically test the mechanism a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) using a sample of 74 mechanical engineering enterprises is performed. As will be shown there are in fact differences between high and low-performing enterprises. The strategic behavior of high-performing enterprises can be classified as Guided Long-Term Inclusive Planning (GLTIP). This work adds new knowledge to the research on ambidexterity and dynamic capabilities and also contributes to the methodological discussion on the analysis of sustainable competitive advantage in today’s globalized and dynamic markets.:1. Introduction 2. High-performing enterprises, strategic management and dynamic environments – multiple paths of explaining sustainable competitive advantage 3. Toward a multidimensional framework of balancing strategic stability and change: a steering mechanism 4. A comparative configurational analysis of the mechanism of strategic ambidexterity with regard to different performance settings 5. Discussion of results: introducing Guided Long-Term Inclusive Planning (GLTIP) 6. Management implications: GLTIP in action 7. Conclusions, limitations and directions for future researc

How a flexible collaboration infrastructure impacts healthcare information exchange

Exchanging health information and data is considered to be critical for modern hospital operations. Research shows that exchanging, e.g., laboratory results, clinical summaries, and medication lists, across the boundaries of hospitals, will improve the efficiency, quality, cost- effectiveness, and even safety of healthcare practices. However, views and strategies differ on how hospitals can facilitate or enable this exchange process, given the high dynamics of technology and IT developments. We explore a hypothesized relationship between a flexible collaboration infrastructure and health information and data exchange. This study builds on the resource-based view of the firm and subsequently tests two hypotheses using PLS-SEM analysis on a sample of 983 European hospitals. We find that there is a significant positive relationship between flexible collaboration infrastructures and health information and data exchange. Hospitals’ security measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the data conditions this relationship

Focus Issue on Legacy Information Systems and Business Process Change: Migrating Large-Scale Legacy Systems to Component-Based and Object Technology: The Evolution of a Pattern Language

The process of developing large-scale business critical software systems must boost the productivity both of the users and the developers of software, while at the same time responding flexibly to changing business requirements in the face of sharpening competition. Historically, these two forces were viewed as mutually hostile. Component-based software development using object technology promises a way of mediating the apparent contradiction. This paper presents a successful new approach which focuses primarily on the architecture of the software system to migrate an existing system to a new form. Best practice is captured by software patterns that address not only the design, but also the process and organizational issues. The approach was developed through four completed, successful live projects in different business and technical areas. It resulted in a still-evolving pattern language called ADAPTOR (Architecture-Driven and Pattern-based Techniques for Object Re-engineering). This article outlines the approach that underlies ADAPTOR. It challenges popular notions of legacy systems by emphasizing business requirements. Architectural approaches to migration are then contrasted with traditional reverse engineering approaches, including the weakness of reverse engineering in the face of paradigm shifts. The evolution of the ADAPTOR pattern language is outlined with a brief history of the projects from which the patterns were abstracted

Essays on Manufacturers’ IT Capabilities for Digital Servitization

Over the last decades, studies have found that transformational drivers affect how firms innovate their business models (Chesbrough, 2010; Massa et al., 2016). In markets in which physical products become commodities, the servitization of business models is a transformational driver for firms (Wise & Baumgartner, 1999). For its part, digitalization increases the potential to reshape business models through novel use cases of technology (Yoo et al., 2010). Recently, digitalization was found to extend the opportunities from servitization through digital technologies as digital servitization (Paschou et al., 2020). Digital servitization describes a firm’s shift from product-centric offerings to service-centric offerings with the help of novel IT assets (Naik et al., 2020). The manufacturing industry provides promising examples of firms with portfolios of physical offerings that might undergo such a transformational shift (Baines et al., 2017). So far, digital servitization research focuses primarily on four topics: re-defining the notion of servitization in the context of digitalization, identifying digital servitization value drivers, linking the transformation to specific technologies, and deriving how novel service offerings arise (Paschou et al., 2020; Zhou & Song, 2021). Despite the breadth of digital servitization research, how firms can shift to service-centric offerings remains unclear (Kohtamäki et al., 2019). Specifically, research lacks studies on the prerequisites and mechanisms that link theory with evidence on achieving IT-enabled service innovation (Paschou et al., 2020). Further, how firms must organize to build and operate IT-enabled services around these technologies remains unclear (Paschou et al., 2020). In a recent report on the manufacturing industry, practitioners confirm these gaps and associate them with a lack of managerial and technical knowledge (Illner et al., 2020). A theoretical lens that helps to address these shortcomings is the knowledge-based theory. It suggests that knowledge is the primary rationale, so that a firm benefits from its assets (Grant, 1996b; Nonaka, 1994). The knowledge-based theory understands a capability as a directed application of knowledge in a firm’s activities (Grant, 1996b; Nonaka, 1994). In the context of digitalization, firms require IT capabilities based on knowledge of how to capitalize on IT assets (Lee et al., 2015). Digital servitization research finds that IT capabilities are critical for identifying, adapting, and exploiting IT-enabled service innovations (Johansson et al., 2019). Still, little extant research informs firms that undergo digital servitization about which IT capabilities can help to strengthen their competitive advantage (Coreynen et al., 2017). Even though IT capabilities may be necessary for success in innovating IT-enabled services, the required knowledge needs to be disseminated effectively throughout an organization (Foss et al., 2014; Grant, 1996a; Nonaka, 1994). The organizational control theory offers a theoretical perspective about knowledge dissemination mechanisms, which can be horizontal or vertical (Ouchi, 1979). Horizontal knowledge dissemination mechanisms depend on codifying processes in rules or measuring process outputs through indicators, while the locus of exerting these rules and indicators determines the vertical knowledge dissemination. The IT innovation and IT governance literature refers to these knowledge dissemination mechanisms as formalization of IT activities and centralization of IT decision-making (Weill, 2004; Winkler & Brown, 2013; Zmud, 1982). However, how to orchestrate knowledge, particularly for IT capabilities, in firms that undergo digital servitization is not yet clear (Kohtamäki et al., 2019; Münch et al., 2022; Sjödin et al., 2020). Against this background, this dissertation addresses how manufacturers organize their IT capabilities while encountering the transformational drivers of digital servitization by answering the following overarching research question: How can manufacturers organize their IT capabilities to capitalize on digital servitization? (References to be found in the full text):List of abbreviations in synopsis............................................................................................................V Part I: Synopsis of the dissertation..........................................................................................................11 Motivation.......................................................................................................................................12 Research design...............................................................................................................................22. 1Conceptual approach and research objectives....................................................................22. 2Research methodologies and methods................................................................................4 3Structure of the dissertation.............................................................................................................5 3.1Systematization of the papers.............................................................................................5 3.2Paper1: Revisiting the concept of IT capabilities in the era of digitalization....................7 3.3Paper2: Short and sweet –Multiple mini case studies as a form of rigorous case studyresearch...............................................................................................................................9 3.4Paper3: Linking IT capabilities and competitive advantage of servitized business models..........................................................................................................................................11 3.5Paper4: From selling machinery to hybrid offerings –Organizational impact of digitalservitization on manufacturing firms................................................................................11 3.6Paper5: Manufacturers’ IT-enabled service innovation success as a multifacetedphenomenon: A configurational study..............................................................................13 3.7Paper6: The missing piece –Calibration of qualitative data for qualitative comparativeanalyses in IS research......................................................................................................14 3.8Paper7: Prerequisites and causal recipes for manufacturers’ success in innovating ITenabled services................................................................................................................16 4Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................19 4.1Resultssummary...............................................................................................................19 4.2Contributions....................................................................................................................20 4.2.1Theoretical contributions......................................................................................20 4.2.2Methodological contribution................................................................................21 4.2.3Practical contribution............................................................................................21 4.3Limitations and future research........................................................................................22 5References.....................................................................................................................................24 Part II: Papers of the dissertation...........................................................................................................29 Paper1: Revisiting the concept of IT capabilities in the era of digitalization.......................................30 Paper2: Short and sweet –Multiple mini case studies as a form of rigorous case study research.......41 Paper3: Linking IT capabilities and competitive advantage of servitized business model..................64 Paper4: From selling machinery to hybrid offerings –Organizational impact of digital servitization on manufacturing firms......................................................................................................................80 Paper5: Manufacturers’ IT-enabled service innovation success as a multifaceted phenomenon: A configurational study...................................................................................................................108 Paper6: The missing piece –Calibration of qualitative data for qualitative comparative analyses in IS research........................................................................................................................................119 Paper7: Prerequisites and causal recipes for manufacturers’ success in innovating IT-enabled services.....................................................................................................................................................136 Overview of the digital appendix on CD.............................................................................................17