Co-creating business value of information technology

Abstract

Purpose

IT-based supply chain performance is co-created through inter-organizational business processes. This research is motivated to explore how business value of IT in supply chain is co-created in downstream process and probe into the possible complementary effect of relational resources from retailers and customers during the cooperative process. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

A model is proposed to conceptualize the process with three dimensions and six constructs, which emerges a causal link between organization resources application, e-supply chain capability (ESCC) and process performance. And then the research model was validated using partial least squares with data collected from 128 manufacturing firms in China.

Findings

The results provide broad support for the following: the casual relationship among inter-organizational resources interaction, ESCC and process performance; the mediating role of ESCC in the e-CRM process is more significant than that in e-ordering process; and there is the moderating effect between relational resources and internal resources in e-CRM process.

Practical implications

It offers guidelines for managers to plan the roles played by resource, capabilities and performance for e-supply chain success in multi-firm environments.

Originality/value

This study provides a novel perspective and offers important implications for e-supply chain research and practice, by exploring intermediate factors and shedding light on the process of co-creating business value of IT in supply chain.

Citation

Jiang, Y. and Zhao, J. (2014), "Co-creating business value of information technology", Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 114 No. 1, pp. 53-69. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-04-2013-0171