Unpacking the effect of IT capability on the performance of export-focused SMEs: a report from China

Abstract.  Export-focused small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China face a number of barriers to success, two primary ones being the liability of foreignness and resource scarcity. In order to transcend these challenges and be able to survive/prosper in the hypercompetitive international market, where players include large resourceful multinational organizations with experience in varied national contexts, these firms need to develop different organizational capabilities. In this paper, we specifically examine the role of a key organizational capability – information technology (IT) capability – and its different dimensions, in determining performance of export-focused SMEs in China. Our study reveals that IT capability has a positive impact on such firms' performance. This finding indicates the need for their owners/managers to invest in IT capability. Further, the study also highlights specific sub-dimensions of IT capability that export-focused Chinese SMEs should (or should not) develop, so as to derive maximum performance-related gains for the minimum amount spent on IT.     

The impact of the nature of globally distributed work arrangement on work–life conflict and valence: the Indian GSD professionals’ perspective

While there is a rich literature exploring the various facets of Globally Distributed Systems Development (GSD), there is scant attention given to the human resource issues such as work–life conflict (WLC) faced by GSD professionals and their valence toward globally distributed work. In this study, we attempt to identify factors that influence offshore GSD workers’ WLC and their valence toward globally distributed work. Specifically, we focus on factors related to the nature of the distributed work arrangements as experienced by offshore Indian workers involved in GSD. On the basis of survey data, we find support for the impact of a number of distribution-related variables on WLC and valence.     

Contextualising collective efficacy in virtual team research: The essential role of collaborative technologies in the virtual team efficacy conceptual framework

One factor receiving contemporary interest from virtual team researchers is collective-level efficacy, that is, a team's shared belief in its collective abilities to work effectively. However, our understanding of this literature leads to two concerns. First, depending on traditional team-focused collective-level efficacy concepts conveys an indifferent view of technology that ignores decades of research explaining how virtual teams' reliance on collaborative technologies differentiates them from traditional teams. Second, the information systems literature has largely ignored the concept of collective-level efficacy in virtual team research. That collective-level efficacy is underexamined in IS research is disappointing, given the growing recognition (outside the IS literature) that it is crucial to virtual team success. This absence becomes even more concerning given that IS researchers developed the concept of virtual team efficacy (VTE) specifically for virtual team settings. Unlike collective-level efficacy measures designed for traditional team settings, VTE incorporates technology into its conceptual definition and the operationalization of its measurement indicators. Thus, it is a stronger predictor of virtual team outcomes. To demonstrate its importance to IS research, we used a deductive theory-driven approach to propose and empirically evaluate whether VTE indirectly acts on virtual team effectiveness through the critical concepts of trust and participants' perceptions of problems associated with the collaboration inhibitors of time difference, geographical separation, and cultural differences. This research contributes significantly to the literature by confirming VTE's relationship to important virtual team success factors and informing IS researchers about the appropriate choice of constructs when studying collective-level efficacy in virtual team settings.     

Assessing the relative contribution of the facets of agility to distributed systems development success: an Analytic Hierarchy Process approach

Recent studies have sought to identify different types/facets of agility that can potentially contribute to distributed Information Systems Development (ISD) project success. However, prior research has not attempted to assess the relative importance of the various types of agility with respect to different ISD success measures. We believe that such an assessment is critical, since this information can enable organizations to direct scarce organizational resources to the types of agility that are most relevant. To this end, we use the Analytic Hierarchy Process to unearth, from the perspectives of two stakeholder groups of distributed software development projects, managers, and technical staff members, as to which agility facets facilitate (and to what degree) on-time completion of projects and effective collaboration in distributed ISD teams. Furthermore, noting that there is a need for an overall set of prioritized agility facets (by integrating managerial and technically oriented perspectives), we present three ways to aggregate the preferences of the two groups.     

Drivers and export performance impacts of IT capability in ‘born‐global’ firms: a cross‐national study

Past research focusing on large firms has argued that information technology (IT) capability enhances firm performance. However, these studies have seldom explored why firms develop IT capability, and have also left a void the understanding of the role of IT capability in Small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). This study attempts to fill that void by examining the effect of relevant environmental and firm‐level factors on IT capability, and the effect of IT capability on the export performance of Chinese and US born‐global firms, a special breed of export‐focused SMEs. Results indicate that environmental factors such as information intensity, and firm‐level factors such as international entrepreneurial orientation, prompt born‐global firms to develop IT capability. Further, our results also strongly emphasise the positive role that IT capability plays on the performance of born‐global firms. Finally, a comparative analysis of the Chinese and US born‐global firms revealed a lack of a cross‐cultural difference in the factors leading these firms to develop IT capability, therefore supporting the ‘convergence’ perspective in cross‐cultural research.     

Implications of space and time for distributed work: an interpretive study of US–Norwegian systems development teams

In this paper, utilizing the often taken-for-granted notions of space and time, we develop an understanding of how collaboration is possible among virtual team-members spread across the globe. We do so by interpretively examining the actual experiences and work practices of virtual team-members located in the US & Norway, engaged in information systems development (ISD) projects. We identify a number of collaboration inhibitors, along with strategies used by team-members to address the challenges posed by the mismatch in time zones and the lack of physical proximity.     

Using a case study to test the role of three key social enablers in ERP implementation

The literature indicates that three key social enablers—strong and committed leadership, open and honest communication, and a balanced and empowered implementation team are necessary conditions/precursors for successful enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation. In a longitudinal positivist case study, we find that, while all three enablers may contribute to ERP implementation success, only strong and committed leadership can be empirically established as a necessary condition. This presents a challenge to future ERP researchers for resolving apparent contradictions between the existing literature and the results of our analysis. One possible direction for future research would be to undertake an interpretive re-examination of the rationalisitic assumptions that underlie much of the existing literature on ERP systems implementation.