Impact of IT integration on the firm's knowledge absorption and desorption

Abstract This paper examines the impact of the integration of IT systems with other organizations (IT integration) on the knowledge absorption and desorption of the focal firm. We ran an empirical study in Spain and found that IT integration enables the firm to absorb and desorb knowledge with other organizations, which in turn improves firm performance. This research provides two key contributions to the IS discipline: 1) We introduce the concept of desorptive capacity in the IS research and provide a scale for its measure, 2) we provide a theory of IT integration impact on the firm’s knowledge absorption and desorption.

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