How the Effects of IT Capability and Knowledge Capability on Organizational Agility are Contingent on Environmental Uncertainty and Information Intensity

Although the relationship of information technology (IT) capability and knowledge capability with organizational agility has been documented, limited information is available on the extent to which these two capabilities affect organizational agility. Attempts to understand the effect of IT and knowledge capability on organizational agility in the presence of contextual factors have also been few. Based on data collected from 123 organizations in China, we examine the moderating effects of two contextual factors (environmental uncertainty and information intensity) on the relationship of IT and knowledge capability with organizational agility. We contribute to current knowledge by showing that environmental uncertainty positively moderates the effects of IT capability and knowledge capability on organizational agility and that information intensity positively moderates the effects of knowledge capability on organizational agility. While we find that both IT and knowledge capabilities have positive effects on organizational agility, knowledge capability is more effective than IT capability

Impact of Organizational Culture Values on Organizational Agility

To remain competitive within the current, uncertain business scenario, it is vital for firms to develop capabilities that lead them to adapt and offer quick responses to market changes. Under the dynamic capabilities view of the firm, this paper proposes a model that presents an exhaustive analysis of two relevant research gaps: (i) the underlying relationships that determine the impact exerted by each of the four organizational culture typologies, comprised in Cameron and Quinn’s Competing Values Framework on organizational agility and, (ii) the contingency effect exerted by a key environmental factor, the industry’s technology intensity. An empirical study is performed to test the relationships proposed, using data collected from 172 Spain-based companies. To examine the contingency effect of technology intensity, the sample is divided into two subsamples, high and medium tech companies. This work uses partial least squares path-modeling, a variance-based structural equations modeling technique, in order to test and validate the research model and hypotheses posited. In addition, thorough analyses are carried out to assess the predictive performance of our modelJunta de Andalucía P10-SEJ-608

Organizational speed as a dynamic capability: Toward a holistic perspective

Current research on organizational speed has been disjointed, which has left organizational speed as an underdeveloped area of study. In this essay, we expand the view of organizational speed as a multidimensional gestalt-like construct that may influence firm performance and competitive advantage. We offer a capability-based definition of organizational speed and identify and review the building blocks of organizational speed. We propose new avenues and questions for future research based on our perspective

Information Technology and the Search for Organizational Agility: A Systematic Review with Future Research Possibilities

Organizations are increasingly turning to information technology (IT) to help them respond to unanticipated environmental threats and opportunities. In this paper, we introduce a systematic review of the literature on IT-enabled agility, helping to establish the boundary between what we know and what we don’t know. We base our review on a wide body of literature drawn from the AIS Basket of Eight IT journals, a cross-section of non-Basket journals, IT practitioner outlets, and premier international IS conferences. We review the use of different theoretical lenses used to investigate the relationship between IT and organizational agility and how the literature has conceptualized agility, its antecedents, and consequences. We also map the evolution of the literature through a series of stages that highlight how researchers have built on previous work. Lastly, we discuss opportunities for future research in an effort to close important gaps in our understanding

UNDERSTANDING COMPETITIVE PERFORMANCE OF SOFTWARE-AS-A-SERVICE (SAAS)—THE COMPETITIVE DYNAMICS PERSPECTIVE

Understanding the antecedents and consequences of a firm’s agility in cloud software applications is important. This papers draws on the competitive dynamics perspective to develop a model that explains the relationships between collaboration with vendors, agility, and competitive performance in software-as-a-service (SaaS) context. Collaboration reflects a firm’s ability to leverage interfirm resources, characterized as knowledge sharing and process alignment. Agility is measured by a firm’s strategy-oriented agility and service-oriented agility. This study also investigates the moderating effect of environmental turbulence. The proposed hypotheses are supported by the empirical data. The results show that competitive performance is affected by ability, which, in turn, is impacted by collaboration. Environmental turbulence positively moderates the relationship between agility and performance. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results

Emerging-market firms’ dynamic capabilities and international performance: The moderating role of institutional development and distance

While extant research has examined the separate influences of dynamic capabilities and institutions on international performance, their interactive role has received limited attention. Therefore, we examine the role of host-country institutional conditions in the relationships between emerging-market firms’ (EMFs) innovation-related dynamic capabilities and their international performance. We use multi-source secondary data and primary data from multiple informants from 254 Turkish international firms to test our framework. The study finds that the linkages between three innovation-related dynamic capabilities (innovativeness, supply-chain agility, and adaptability) and international performance are positively and negatively moderated by institutional development and institutional distance, but that their influences are opposite. These influences demonstrate that host-country institutional conditions shape the link between dynamic capabilities and EMFs’ international performance in a multifaceted and paradoxical fashion

Essays on digitalization among small and medium-sized firms : Complementary and contingent approaches

This dissertation explains how and under what circumstances the operational performance of small and medium-sized (SME) firms is most likely to benefit from digitalization. This topic will be examined by combining the resource-based view (RBV) and contingency theory, that is, using the contingency RBV, which remains relatively rarely used in current research. The perspective permits an examination of the impact of various resources and capabilities in the presence of situational factors. The dissertation consists of five papers dealing with digitalization in SMEs operating in various areas. The research relies on two surveys involving Finnish SMEs from manufacturing industries, the first of which provides cross-sectional data. Together the two datasets provide the longitudinal data informing the dissertation. The research shows that the contingency RBV provides a comprehensive framework that can assist in examining how and in what circumstances SMEs can benefit from digitalization, that benefit being measured from an operational improvement perspective. Previous research on SMEs is limited, so the first result of this thesis involves testing a theoretical framework for SMEs in the context of their digitalization. The research results show that the benefits of digitalization for operational performance arise through two different mechanisms, and digitalization alone does not affect the firm's success. The effect of digitalization on SMEs’ operational performance emerges from the complementarity between digitalization and firms’ organizational attributes, factors, or resources that enhance performance. The second mechanism relates to environmental and situational factors and shows that both the firm's internal and external environment determine the level of the impact of digitalization. Among Finnish SMEs, digitalization produces value in the form of improved operational performance when digitalization, resources, and capabilities bolster each other in internal and external environments conducive to digitalization.Tässä väitöskirjassa selvitetään miten ja missä tilanteessa pienet ja keskisuuret (pk) yritykset pystyvät todennäköisemmin hyötymään digitalisoitumisestaan operatiivisen suorituskyvyn näkökulmasta. Aihetta tarkastellaan yhdistämällä resurssi- ja tilannetekijäteoria eli tässä työssä hyödynnetään tilanteista resurssiteoriaa, joka on nykyisessä tutkimuskentässä vielä varsin rajallisesti käytetty. Näkökulman mukaan erilaisten resurssien ja kyvykkyyksien vaikutusta voidaan tarkastella tilannetekijöiden ollessa läsnä. Väitöskirja muodostuu viidestä artikkelista, joissa käsitellään yritysten digitalisoitumista. Väitöskirjassa käyte¬tään kahta eri kyselytutkimusta, joihin suomalaiset valmistavan teollisuuden pk-yritykset ovat osallistuneet. Ensimmäinen aineisto on poikkileikkausaineisto ja aineistot yhdessä muodostavat toisen, pitkittäisen, aineiston. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että tilanteinen resurssiteoria muodostaa kattavan viitekehyksen, jonka perusteella voidaan lähestyä sitä, miten ja missä tilanteissa pk-yritykset pystyvät hyötymään digitalisoitumisesta parantuneen operatiivisen suorituskyvyn näkökulmasta. Aikaisempi pk-yrityksiin keskittynyt tutkimus on ollut vähäistä, joten tämän väitöskirjan ensimmäisenä tuloksena voidaan pitää teoreettisen viitekehyksen testaamista nimenomaan pienillä ja keskisuurilla yrityksillä niiden digitalisoitumisen kontekstissa. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että digitalisoitumisen hyöty operationaaliseen suoriutumiseen syntyy kahden erilaisen mekanismin kautta eli digitalisoituminen ei yksin vaikuta yrityksen menestymiseen. Ensimmäinen mekanismi muodostuu niin kutsutusta täydentävästä suhteesta, joka tarkoittaa sitä, että yrityksen digitalisoituminen vaikuttaa yrityksen muihin resursseihin ja kyvykkyyksiin vahvistavasti, ja yhdessä digitaaliset tekijät yrityksen resurssien ja kyvykkyyksien kanssa parantavat yrityksen suoriutumista. Toinen mekanismi liittyy kontingenssivaikutukseen, jossa tilannetekijät vaikuttavat yritysten digitalisoitumisesta syntyvään hyötyyn. Tulokset osoittavat, että mikäli yrityksen sisäinen ympäristö on suotuisa yrityksen digitalisoitumiseen, sillä on positiivisia vaikutuksia digitalisoitumisesta saatavaan hyötyyn. Tulosten mukaan myös ulkoinen ympäristö vaikuttaa yrityksen digitalisoitumisesta saatavaan hyötyyn. Suomalaisten pk-yritysten digitalisoituminen tuottaa yrityksille arvoa parantuneena operatiivisena suorituskykynä silloin, kun yritysten digitalisoituminen ja resurssit sekä kyvykkyydet vahvistavat toisiaan digitalisoitumiselle suotuisassa sisäisessä ja ulkoisessa ympäristössä.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

TANGIBLE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS AND ORGANIZATIONAL AGILITY: AN INVESTIGATION OF MANUFACTURING SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

This paper investigates the role of tangible IT infrastructure assets –the portfolio of specific applications to which a firm endows itself – in enabling organizational agility and business performance in the context of SMEs. Building upon past literature, we regroup tangible IT infrastructure assets into three categories: IT for flexibility, IT for innovation, and IT for integration. Each category includes a series of specific technologies (i.e., CNC, CAD and ERP). We theorize that tangible IT infrastructure assets positively influence organizational agility and business performance. We employ a survey methodology to test the proposed hypotheses. One hundred and twenty-six manufacturing SMEs completed the survey. The results support the hypothesized relations. This research complements previous research that has studied intangible abstract constructs as antecedents of organizational agility, it confirms the results of past research examining the agility-business performance link, and it addresses the scarcity of strategic IS research in SMEs

The co-evolutionary relationship between digitalization and organizational agility: Ongoing debates, theoretical developments and future research perspectives

This study is the first to provide a systematic review of the literature focused on the relationship between digitalization and organizational agility (OA). It applies the bibliographic coupling method to 171 peer-reviewed contributions published by 30 June 2021. It uses the digitalization perspective to investigate the enablers, barriers and benefits of processes aimed at providing firms with the agility required to effectively face increasingly turbulent environments. Three different, though interconnected, thematic clusters are discovered and analysed, respectively focusing on big-data analytic capabilities as crucial drivers of OA, the relationship between digitalization and agility at a supply chain level, and the role of information technology capabilities in improving OA. By adopting a dynamic capabilities perspective, this study overcomes the traditional view, which mainly considers digital capabilities enablers of OA, rather than as possible outcomes. Our findings reveal that, in addition to being complex, the relationship between digitalization and OA has a bidirectional character. This study also identifies extant research gaps and develops 13 original research propositions on possible future research pathways and new managerial solutions