Digital Business Strategy and Firm Performance: the Mediation Effects of E-collaboration Capability

Nowadays, digital technologies (e.g., big data, cloud and mobility) have changed the firms’ activities. Many firms begin to utilize digital resources to formulate and execute digital business strategy. However, there is little empirical research focusing on explaining this novel phenomenon. In this paper, we proposed a framework which describes the value creation and appropriation process of digital business strategy in the digital settings. Our research model is tested by survey data and financial data from a sample of 138 manufacturing firms which adopted e-selling process. The result provides strong supports to the proposed research model. In particular, we find that, as hypothesized, the impact of digital business strategy on firm performance is completely mediated by e-collaboration capability which is one kind of digital capabilities. Theoretical and practical implications of the research are discussed.

[1]  K. Jöreskog,et al.  Intraclass Reliability Estimates: Testing Structural Assumptions , 1974 .

[2]  Terry S. Overton,et al.  Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys , 1977 .

[3]  J. Nunnally Psychometric Theory (2nd ed), New York: McGraw-Hill. , 1978 .

[4]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[5]  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.

[6]  Yolande E. Chan,et al.  Business Strategic Orientation, Information Systems Strategic Orientation, and Strategic Alignment , 1997, Inf. Syst. Res..

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

[8]  John Hulland,et al.  Use of partial least squares (PLS) in strategic management research: a review of four recent studies , 1999 .

[9]  Anandhi S. Bharadwaj,et al.  A Resource-Based Perspective on Information Technology Capability and Firm Performance: An Empirical Investigation , 2000, MIS Q..

[10]  Rajiv Sabherwal,et al.  Alignment Between Business and IS Strategies: A Study of Prospectors, Analyzers, and Defenders , 2001, Inf. Syst. Res..

[11]  Detmar W. Straub,et al.  Research Commentary: Transformational Issues in Researching IS and Net-Enabled Organizations , 2001, Inf. Syst. Res..

[12]  Wynne W. Chin,et al.  A Partial Least Squares Latent Variable Modeling Approach for Measuring Interaction Effects: Results from a Monte Carlo Simulation Study and an Electronic - Mail Emotion/Adoption Study , 2003, Inf. Syst. Res..

[13]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[14]  Varun Grover,et al.  Shaping Agility through Digital Options: Reconceptualizing the Role of Information Technology in Contemporary Firms , 2003, MIS Q..

[15]  N. Carr IT doesn't matter , 2003, IEEE Engineering Management Review.

[16]  Kristopher J Preacher,et al.  SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models , 2004, Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers : a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc.

[17]  M Haenlein,et al.  A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO PARTIAL LEASTSQUARES ANALYSIS , 2004 .

[18]  N. Kock,et al.  Expanding the Boundaries of E-Collaboration , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication.

[19]  Arun Rai,et al.  Firm performance impacts of digitally enabled supply chain integration capabilities , 2006 .

[20]  Jason Bennett Thatcher,et al.  Antecedents and outcomes of strategic IS alignment: an empirical investigation , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

[21]  Blaize Horner Reich,et al.  IT alignment: what have we learned? , 2007, J. Inf. Technol..

[22]  Paul P. Tallon Does IT pay to focus? An analysis of IT business value under single and multi-focused business strategies , 2007, J. Strateg. Inf. Syst..

[23]  A. Oke,et al.  Antecedents of supply chain visibility in retail supply chains: A resource-based theory perspective , 2007 .

[24]  Detmar W. Straub,et al.  Competitive and Cooperative Positioning in Supply Chain Logistics Relationships , 2007, Decis. Sci..

[25]  Paul P. Tallon A Process-Oriented Perspective on the Alignment of Information Technology and Business Strategy , 2007, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[26]  Varun Grover,et al.  Business Value of IT: An Essay on Expanding Research Directions to Keep up with the Times , 2008, J. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[27]  Jing Zhao,et al.  An Empirical Study of E-Business Implementation Process in China , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

[28]  Eve D. Rosenzweig A contingent view of e-collaboration and performance in manufacturing , 2009 .

[29]  A. Hayes Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical Mediation Analysis in the New Millennium , 2009 .

[30]  Veda C. Storey,et al.  Call for Papers MISQ Special Issue on , 2010 .

[31]  Paul P. Tallon,et al.  Competing Perspectives on the Link Between Strategic Information Technology Alignment and Organizational Agility: Insights from a Mediation Model , 2011, MIS Q..

[32]  Kalle Lyytinen,et al.  Organizing for Innovation in the Digitized World , 2012, Organ. Sci..

[33]  Paul A. Pavlou,et al.  Interfirm IT Capability Profiles and Communications for Cocreating Relational Value: Evidence from the Logistics Industry , 2012, MIS Q..

[34]  O. A. Sawy,et al.  Digital business strategy: toward a next generation of insights , 2013 .

[35]  Paul A. Pavlou,et al.  Visions and Voices on Emerging Challenges in Digital Business Strategy , 2013, MIS Q..

[36]  Pankaj Setia,et al.  How information systems help create OM capabilities: Consequents and antecedents of operational absorptive capacity , 2013 .

[37]  Ali Tafti,et al.  How a Firm's Competitive Environment and Digital Strategic Posture Influence Digital Business Strategy , 2013, MIS Q..

[38]  R. Kohli,et al.  Revealing your hand: caveats in implementing digital business strategy , 2013 .

[39]  Guido Schryen,et al.  Revisiting IS business value research: what we already know, what we still need to know, and how we can get there , 2013, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..