The Impacts of Electronic Collaboration and Information Exploitation Capability on Firm Performance: Focusing on Suppliers using Buyer-Dominated Interorganizational Information Systems1

This study focuses on electronic collaboration based on inter-organizational information systems (IOIS), particularly between dominant buyers and their suppliers. From the suppliers’ perspective, we examine ways to achieve higher performance by increasing the extent to which they proactively participate in business activities using IOIS. We propose that electronic collaboration consists of two major activities: electronic information sharing (EIS) and electronic cooperation (ECo). This study investigates the extent of EIS and ECo that suppliers contribute to their development of information exploitation capability (IEC), which enables them to internally utilize information and knowledge created from electronic collaboration. In addition, we test the effects of electronic collaboration activities and IEC on firm performance. We collected surveys from 169 firms and used Structural Equation Model analysis. We found that EIS and ECo are major sources to develop IEC, and that both ECo and IEC lead to improved company performance.

[1]  Demosthenes Akoumianakis,et al.  Cross-Organization Virtual CoP: A Field Study in an Information-Based Industry , 2011 .

[2]  M. Bensaou,et al.  Interorganizational Cooperation: The Role of Information Technology an Empirical Comparison of U.S. and Japanese Supplier Relations , 1997, Inf. Syst. Res..

[3]  Bernhard Ertl,et al.  E-Collaborative Knowledge Construction: Learning from Computer-Supported and Virtual Environments , 2010 .

[4]  N. Venkatraman,et al.  Safeguarding Investments in Asymmetric Interorganizational Relationships: Theory and Evidence , 2003 .

[5]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  Electronic Data Interchange and Small Organizations: Adoption and Impact of Technology , 1995, MIS Q..

[6]  Mani Subramani,et al.  How Do Suppliers Benefit from Information Technology Use in Supply Chain Relationships? , 2004, MIS Q..

[7]  B. Kogut,et al.  Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology , 1992 .

[8]  Paul J. Hart,et al.  Power and Trust: Critical Factors in the Adoption and Use of Electronic Data Interchange , 1997 .

[9]  Jan B. Heide,et al.  Controlling Supplier Opportunism in Industrial Relationships , 1996 .

[10]  Jan B. Heide,et al.  Transaction Cost Analysis: Past, Present, and Future Applications , 1997 .

[11]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[12]  Daniel A. Levinthal,et al.  ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON LEARNING AND INNOVATION , 1990 .

[13]  Jeffrey H. Dyer,et al.  The Relational View: Cooperative Strategy and Sources of Interorganizational Competitive Advantage , 1998 .

[14]  Wynne W. Chin Issues and Opinion on Structural Equation Modeling by , 2009 .

[15]  William L. Fuerst,et al.  Information technology and sustained competitive advantage: a resource-based analysis , 1995 .

[16]  S. Zahra,et al.  Absorptive Capacity: A Review, Reconceptualization, and Extension , 2002 .

[17]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  Research Report: Empirical Test of an EDI Adoption Model , 2001, Inf. Syst. Res..

[18]  Ellen Christiaanse,et al.  Beyond Sabre: An Empirical Test of Expertise Exploitation in Electronic Channels , 2002, MIS Q..

[19]  J. H. Dyer Does Governance Matter? Keiretsu Alliances and Asset Specificity as Sources of Japanese Competitive Advantage , 1996 .

[20]  Rafael Prikladnicki,et al.  Minimizing the Challenges of Risk Management in Distributed IT Projects: The Importance of the Alignment of Strategic, Tactical, and Operational Levels , 2008 .

[21]  Jeffrey H. Dyer EFFECTIVE INTERFIRM COLLABORATION : HOW FIRMS MINIMIZE TRANSACTION COSTS AND MAXIMIZE TRANSACTION VALUE r , 1998 .

[22]  Jay F. Nunamaker,et al.  Synchronicity and Group Ability to Autonomously Cluster Brainstorming Ideas , 2009, Int. J. e Collab..

[23]  R. Grant Chapter 8 – Prospering in Dynamically-Competitive Environments: Organizational Capability as Knowledge Integration , 1999 .

[24]  Robert W. Zmud,et al.  Measuring the Extent of EDI Usage in Complex Organizations: Strategies and Illustrative Examples , 1996, MIS Q..

[25]  Jan-Willem Strijbos,et al.  Flexible Peer Assessment Formats to Acknowledge Individual Contributions During (Web-Based) Collabor , 2010 .

[26]  S. Messick Test validity and the ethics of assessment. , 1980 .

[27]  Gerardine DeSanctis,et al.  Capturing the Complexity in Advanced Technology Use: Adaptive Structuration Theory , 1994 .

[28]  J. Prado,et al.  Knowledge Creation, Ba and CoP: The Experience at IADE-UAM , 2011 .

[29]  Angel A. Juan Monitoring and Assessment in Online Collaborative Environments: Emergent Computational Technologies for E-learning Support , 2009 .

[30]  Robert M. Davison,et al.  E‐collaboration: A look at past research and future challenges , 2001 .

[31]  William L. Fuerst,et al.  Information Technology and Sustained Competitive Advantage: A Reourse-Based Analysis , 1995, MIS Q..

[32]  N. Venkatraman,et al.  Configurations of inter-organizational relationships : a comparison between US and Japanese automakers , 1995 .

[33]  K. E. Barron,et al.  Testing Moderator and Mediator Effects in Counseling Psychology Research. , 2004 .

[34]  Kenneth David Strang,et al.  Articulating Tacit Knowledge in Multinational E-Collaboration on New Product Designs , 2011 .

[35]  L. James,et al.  Mediators, Moderators, and Tests for Mediation. , 1984 .

[36]  Tatyana Dumova,et al.  Handbook of Research on Social Interaction Technologies and Collaboration Software: Concepts and Trends , 2009 .

[37]  Sunder Kekre,et al.  Strategic and Operational Benefits of Electronic Integration in B2B Procurement Processes , 2002, Manag. Sci..

[38]  M. Wade,et al.  Review: the resource-based view and information systems research: review, extension, and suggestions for future research , 2004 .

[39]  John Lim,et al.  Computer-Supported Collaborative Work and Learning: A Meta-Analytic Examination of Key Moderators in Experimental GSS Research , 2007, Int. J. Web Based Learn. Teach. Technol..

[40]  Jan B. Heide,et al.  ALLIANCES IN INDUSTRIAL PURCHASING - THE DETERMINANTS OF JOINT ACTION IN BUYER-SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS , 1990 .

[41]  A. Zaheer,et al.  Determinants of Electronic Integration in the Insurance Industry: An Empirical Test , 1994 .

[42]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  Predicting Intention to Adopt Interorganizational Linkages: An Institutional Perspective , 2003, MIS Q..

[43]  J. H. Dyer Effective interim collaboration: how firms minimize transaction costs and maximise transaction value , 1997 .

[44]  Ned Kock Business Process Improvement Through E-Collaboration: Knowledge Sharing Through the Use of Virtual Groups , 2005 .

[45]  C. S. Lee,et al.  Evaluating the Effectiveness of Information Service for SMEs on Information Orientation and Firm Performance , 2009 .

[46]  Daniel A. Levinthal,et al.  Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning , 2007 .

[47]  Oscar Fontenla-Romero,et al.  Web-Based Multimedia Tools for Monitoring and E-Learning , 2010 .

[48]  C. S. Lee,et al.  The Effects of IT Leveraging Competence on Firm Performance in Cross-Firm Relationships: Focusing on Social Capital and Collaboration , 2009 .

[49]  Omar El Sawy,et al.  Absorptive Capacity Configurations in Supply Chains: Gearing for Partner-Enabled Market Knowledge Creation , 2005, MIS Q..

[50]  Carol Stoak Saunders,et al.  Emerging Electronic Partnerships: Antecedents and Dimensions of EDI Use from the Supplier's Perspective , 1998, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[51]  Ned Kock,et al.  E-Collaboration: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications , 2009 .