The Role of Electronic Integration and Absorptive Capacity on Interorganizational Cost Management in Supply Chains

The need to remain competitive is driving firms to increasingly seek competitive advantages by collaborating more intensely with their partner firms. One aspect of collaboration between firms is interorganizational cost management, where the focus is on specifically managing costs from both a focal firm and a partner firm perspective. This study integrates literature from the information systems, managerial accounting, and operations management fields to create a multi- disciplinary view of interorganizational cost management (IOCM) as an IT-enabled organizational capability. We develop a research model that focuses on both the antecedents (electronic integration, absorptive capacity, and internal cost management) and the consequences (benefits) of IOCM. Our model is tested from a sample of managerial accountants who work in firms that are a part of a supply chain. The results show that IOCM leads to specific firm benefits for the focal firm, and that electronic integration and a firm’s absorptive capacity for IOCM are both direct antecedents to the IOCM capability

Value Co-Creation in Supply Chains through IT Integration: The Role of Collaborative Network Structure

Firms today are increasingly dependent on external resources, and the need for collaboration across organizational boundaries continues to grow. Therefore, research has highlighted the importance of IT capabilities that integrate an organization with its network of partner organizations. However, antecedents of IT integration have been primarily derived from technology-driven contexts. In contrast, the role of organizational attributes remains largely unexplored. We therefore develop and test a theoretical model to examine collaborative network structure as an antecedent to IT integration. Based on this particular form of supply chain governance, we go on to explore how IT integration in conjunction with other capabilities leads to supply chain integration, thereby enabling the creation of value. Based on data gathered from 150 supply chain executives, the study provides evidence on the important role of organizational attributes and contributes to the stream of research that examines the role of interorganizational IT capabilities in co-creating value

Leveraging Open-standard Interorganizational Information Systems for Process Adaptability and Alignment: An Empirical Analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the value creation mechanisms of open-standard inter-organizational information system (OSIOS), which is a key technology to achieve Industry 4.0. Specifically, this study investigates how the internal assimilation and external diffusion of OSIOS help manufactures facilitate process adaptability and alignment in supply chain network.Design/methodology/approachA survey instrument was designed and administrated to collect data for this research. Using three-stage least squares estimation, the authors empirically tested a number of hypothesized relationships based on a sample of 308 manufacturing firms in China.FindingsThe results of the study show that OSIOS can perform as value creation mechanisms to enable process adaptability and alignment. In addition, the impact of OSIOS internal assimilation is inversely U-shaped where the positive effect on process adaptability will become negative after an extremum point is reached.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights on how OSIOS can improve supply chain integration and thus promote the achievement of industry 4.0. By revealing a U-shaped relationship between OSIOS assimilation and process adaptability, this study fills previous research gap by advancing the understanding on the value creation mechanisms of information systems deployment

IT-enabled Interorganizational Information Sharing Under Co-opetition in Disasters: A Game-Theoretic Framework

Increasing uncertainty in the business world requires organizations to establish temporary, IT-enabled interorganizational information exchanges on short notice. Information sharing among disaster relief organizations represents an extreme case of these ad hoc interorganizational information exchanges, and therefore provides a good reference point for analyzing firms’ strategic competitive and cooperative considerations (co-opetition). While ad hoc IT-enabled interorganizational information sharing is particularly crucial in facilitating efficient disaster response, little research has outlined the main barriers and benefits of participation in these ad hoc information relationships, with the existing literature often overlooking the competitive aspects. We demonstrate that the ad hoc humanitarian context of natural disasters provides additional insights to existing understandings of information sharing costs and benefits under co-opetition. An elaborated game-theoretic model is developed that provides a theoretical foundation for empirical and modeling research on IT-enabled interorganizational information sharing, under co-opetition in disaster relief, as well as in other business contexts

A Relational View of Accounting Information Sharing

Today’s organizations are characterized by a network of relationships with various customers and suppliers. As such, the critical resources leading to competitive advantage may no longer reside within a firm’s own boundaries and instead be a part of the network of relationships. This perspective, known as the relational view of the firm, suggests that a firm’s critical resources may be embedded in the routines and processes associated with inter-firm relationships. One such inter-firm process is the sharing of accounting information. Using the relational view of the firm, this study develops a research model with three antecedent factors of accounting information-sharing (electronic integration systems, trust, and knowledge-sharing routines) which can lead to benefits associated with inter-organizational competitive advantage. We find that the factors of trust and knowledge-sharing have direct effects on accounting information-sharing, while the factor of electronic integration has an indirect effect through the enabling of knowledge-sharing routines

The diffusion and impact of radio frequency identification in supply chains : a multi-method approach

As a promising and emerging technology for supply chain management, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a new alternative to existing tracking technologies and also allows a range of internal control and supply chain coordination. RFID has generated a significant amount of interest and activities from both practitioners and researchers in recent years. However, the factors important for its diffusion in supply chains and the impact on supply chain performance have not been well understood. Many organizations are reluctant to participate in supply-chain level RFID projects because of this lack of understanding. My dissertation proposes to help understand RFID's use in supply chains through a multi-method approach - an empirical study to understand the diffusion and impact of RFID and a simulation study to understand RFID's impact on inventory accuracy in supply chains. My first study on the factors influencing RFID adoption decision showed that compatibility, trading partner's RFID capability, trading partner power, competitive pressure, transaction volume and financial resources are significant factors for RFID adoption in a supply chain context. The second study which looked into the post-adoption use of RFID for supply chain has found that adoption cost, complexity, organizational readiness, external pressure and trading partner readiness significantly influence RFID infusion, which finally improves firm's supply chain process performance. The third study used a simulation model to examine RFID's impact on inventory management in supply chains. The key findings were that the benefits reaped from RFID heavily depend on product type which implements RFID. The above findings indicate that organizations have to carefully evaluate their RFID project with different factors identified in this dissertation to successfully implement RFID and derive its full benefits. My dissertation has contributed to RFID research in particular, and supply chain technology adoption in general, by showing the importance of trading partner issues for supply chain technology diffusion and use

The Role of Knowledge Management in the Relationship between IT Capability and Interorganizational Performance: An Empirical Investigation

Knowledge management capability (KMC) represents an important link between IT and individual firm performance. We investigate this link in an interorganizational (IO) context—an increasingly important and yet substantially underresearched area. Based on reviewing and integrating the literature, we develop and test a comprehensive empirical conceptualization of KMC that includes knowledge creation, transfer, retention, and application. We collected survey data from supply management professionals at one partner firm (either customer or supplier) in an IO relationship. We tested our research hypotheses using structural equation modeling. We found that partner firms’ KMC was positively associated with IO performance. We also found that IO information technology (IOIT) infrastructure capabilities facilitated KMC through the strength of IO relational capability. Partner interdependence was positively associated with IO relational capability and with KMC. Taking a knowledge management (KM) perspective, our research shows that IT requires relational capability and KMC to bring performance gains to IO partnerships. These insights have theoretical importance for understanding IT-enabled knowledge management in IO settings and practical significance for firms to effectively use their IOIT infrastructure