The impact of IT capabilities on firm performance:The mediating roles of absorptive capacity and supply chain agility
Hefu Liu a ,⁎,Weiling Ke b ,Kwok Kee Wei c ,Zhongsheng Hua d
a
School of Management,University of Science and Technology of China,Jinzhai Road 96,Hefei,Anhui,China b
School of Business,Clarkson University,PO Box 5765,Potsdam,NY 13699-5765,United States c
College of Business,City University of Hong Kong,83Tat Chee Avenue,Kowloon Tong,Hong Kong d
School of Management,University of Science and Technology of China,Jinzhai Road 96,Hefei,Anhui,China
a b s t r a c t
a r t i c l e i n f o Article history:
Received 8July 2011
Received in revid form 10December 2012Accepted 14December 2012
Available online 23December 2012Keywords:
IT infrastructure IT assimilation
Supply chain agility Absorptive capacity Dynamic capabilities
Rearchers and practitioners regard information technology (IT)as a competitive tool.However,current knowledge on IT capability mechanisms that affect firm performance remains unclear.Bad on the dynamic capabilities perspective and the view of a hierarchy of capabilities,this article propos a model to examine how IT capabilities (i.e.,flexible IT infrastructure and IT assimilation)affect firm performance through ab-sorptive capacity and supply chain agility in the supply chain context.Survey data show that absorptive ca-pacity and supply chain agility fully mediate the in fluences of IT capabilities on firm performance.In addition to the direct effects,absorptive capacity also has indirect effects on firm performance by shaping supply chain agility.We conclude with implications and suggestions for future rearch.
©2012Elvier B.V.All rights rerved.
1.Introduction
Leveraging information technology (IT)to derive competitive ad-vantage is emerging as a top priority for firms [17,33,34,81].IT capabil-ities are required for ef ficient and effective knowledge management and change management in a firm's supply chain [42,54,58,79].Howev-er,previous empirical studies report mixed findings about the effects of IT capabilities on firm performance [54,79].“The role and articulation of ‘the underlying mechanisms ’through which IT capabilities improve firm performance remain unclear ”([81],p.238).As such,scholars have called for more empirical studies on the in fluential mechanisms of IT capabilities especially in the supply chain context [54,79].
The current study is an effort toward this rearch direction.In particular,this study explores the roles of two IT capabilities that af-fect firm performance,namely,(1)flexible IT infrastructure,which is a carefully planned and developed technological foundation on which prent and future IT applications are built [9,54,60],and (2)IT assimilation,or the ability to diffu and routinize IT applications in business process [3].Previous studies indicate that both flexible IT infrastructure an
d IT assimilation are valuable,rare,and imperfect-ly imitable IT capabilities that firms must acquire to prosper in a rap-idly changing business environment [6,54,74].
Speci fically,firms continue to make signi ficant investments in IT infrastructure,facilitating the flow of knowledge and information across supply chains that,in turn,helps them maintain competitive advantage [14,33,61].Given that the market has become increasingly uncertain,managers now consider creating flexible IT infrastructure as a critical capability that allows firms to achieve superior perfor-mance [56].Thus,greater attention is given to the business value of a flexible IT infrastructure [9,54,56,60].Furthermore,previous works report that a flexible IT infrastructure alone is insuf ficient —it simply cannot enable firms to maintain competitive advantage [19,48,81].For example,Devaraj and Kohli [19],indicate that the performance bene fits of IT infrastructure investment may not be fully realized un-less IT applications are actually assimilated.Practically,as an increas-ing number of organizational process are becoming IT-enabled,IT assimilation is becoming esntial in supporting business process within and across organizational boundaries,thereby determining the value realized from IT applications [3,40,74].
Recent literature question the direct effects of IT capabilities on firm performance by contending that the effects are mediated by other capa-bilities [45,49,52,58,79].For example,Wade and Hulland [74],
state that “information systems exert their in fluence on the firm through comple-mentary relationships with other firm asts and capabilities ”(p.109).Sambamurthy,Bharadwaj,and Grover [58]posit that knowledge man-agement and agility are two important mediators that help establish the nomological network for IT capabilities'impact on firm performance.Mithas et al.[45]further argue that IT capabilities normally affect firm performance by enabling higher-order business capabilities.Following
Decision Support Systems 54(2013)1452–1462
⁎Corresponding author.Tel.:+8655163606822;fax:+8655163600025.E-mail address:liuhf@ustc.edu (H.Liu),wke@clarkson.edu (W.Ke),isweikk@cityu.edu.hk (K.K.Wei),zshua@ustc.edu (Z.
Hua).
0167-9236/$–e front matter ©2012Elvier B.V.All rights rerved.
dx.doi/10.1016/j.dss.2012.12.016
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Decision Support Systems
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this notion,we draw upon the dynamic capabilities perspective and in-vestigate the underlying influencing mechanisms of IT capabilities.In particular,we follow Grant[24]and Rai et al.[52]in conceptualizing IT capabilities as fundamental capabilities that shape higher-order ,absorptive capacity and supply chain agility)that,in turn, affectfirm performance.
Absorptive capacity refers to afirm's ability to value,assimilate, and apply new knowledge received from external sources,such as customers,suppliers,or alliance partners[18,42,82].Supply chain agility is defined as afirm's ability to effectively collaborate with channel partners to respond to market changes in a rapid manner [7,65].Both absorptive capacity and supply chain agility are viewed as the critical,direct sources of superiorfirm performance in the com-petitive market[15,58,66,82].Aflexible IT infrastructure provides the platform that can helpfirms exchange knowledge,align process, and achieve operationflexibilities,whereas IT assimilation affects the efficiency and effectiveness of business process within and across organizational boundaries through embedding IT applications into business process[52,59,79].As such,we propo that IT ,flexible IT infrastructure and IT assimilation)support the development of absorptive capacity and supply chain agility,thereby influencingfirm performance.The rearch model is supported by data collected from nior executives in China.
The rest of the paper is organized into ctions.Section2prents the theoretical background and hypothes development of this study.Section3describes the rearch methodology employed. Section4discuss our data analysis and rearchfindings.Finally, Section5prents our discussion and conclusion.
2.Conceptual framework and hypothes development
The dynamic capabilities perspective is a widely applied paradigm to explain variance in performance across competingfirms[5,68,77,83,84]. With its roots in resource-bad view,this theoretical perspective argues that superiorfirm performance comes from two types of organi-zational capabilities,namely,dynamic capability and operational capa-bility[12,20,29,83].The literature formulated the basic difference between dynamic capability and operational capability[29,31,76,80]. Scholars refer to the former as the means by which afirm achieves new resource conditions as market changes;by contrast,the latter is the means by which thefirm functions or operates to make a living in the prent[80].Specifically,operational capability refers to afirm's ability to execute and coordinate the various tasks required to perform operational activities,such as distribution logistics and marketing cam-paigns[12,29,49,80].This capability reflects a high-level routine or a col-lection of routines that can be ud to respond to market changes [5,12,29,49].Due to the growing need for a timely and cost-effective manner of product and rvice delivery,supply chain agility is consid-ered a critical type of operational capability required for superiorfirm performance[46,47].It also reflects the complex coordination and inte-gration among different channel members,which enablefirms to change supply chain practices and be responsive to market changes [7,65,66].Therefore,supply chain agility is regarded as a critical source of superiorfirm performance[46,47].
Dynamic capability refers to afirm's ability to integrate,build,and reconfigure internal and external competencies[68,77].Dynamic ca-pability is regarded as a higher-level routine that is ud to adapt op-erational routines and capabilities to develop new value-creating strategies[12,20,29,57,83].In the existing literature,absorptive ca-pacity is widely propod as a critical type of dynamic capability that enables knowledge management[42,75,82].Malhotra et al.[42] suggest that afirm's absorptive capacity reflects“the t of organiza-tional routines and process by which organizations acquire,assim-ilate,transform,and exploit knowledge”(p.145).Hence,absorptive capacity enables thefirm to n and ize business opportunities that can directly affectfirm performance[12,68,77].
On the other hand,bad on the theoretical notion of higher-order capabilities and a hierarchy of capabilities,scholars suggest that orga-nizational capabilities can be conceptualized as a hierarchy,with a higher-order capability being developed through a ries of lower-order capabilities[24,26,35,64].In this view,both absorptive capacity and supply chain agility are widely defined as higher-order capabili-ties that enablefirms to exploit existing lower-order capability [26,80].Accordingly,in current IT business value rearch,scholars increasingly regard IT capabilities as lower-order capabilities that en-abling the development of higher-order capabilities,such as agility [58],knowledge management[67]as well as new product develop-ment dynamic and operational cap
abilities[49],rather than higher-order capabilities in themlves[4].Rai et al.[52]contend that afirm's IT capability“reprents a lower-order capability that can be leveraged to develop a higher-order process , supply chain process integration),which is a source of significant and sustained performance gains for thefirm”(p.227).Similarly, Sambamurthy et al.[58]propo that IT capabilities are antecedents of higher-order business capabilities,including knowledge manage-ment and agility capabilities.Following this logic,the current study propos that bothflexible IT infrastructure and IT assimilation are lower-order capabilities that can be leveraged to develop higher-order ,absorptive capacity and supply chain agility) that,in turn,directly affectfirm performance.Fig.1shows the re-arch model.
2.1.Supply chain agility
Supply chain agility,as a type of operational capability,refers to a firm's ability to perform operational activities together with channel partners in order to adapt or respond to marketplace changes in a rapid manner[7,65,66].A supply chain normally involves a ries of linked activities,including design,manufacture,and delivery of prod-ucts or rvices,among channel members.Thefirm needs to collabo-rate with partners to perform the linked activities efficiently and jointly manage marketplace volatility to achieve competitive advan-tage[73].Under this condition,supply chain agility,
which is all about customer responsiveness in the uncertain market[73],is esn-tial in ensuring thefirm's competitiveness becau it enables effective and efficient respons to operational changes,such as procurement, manufacturing,delivery,and market promotion[1,58,65].
The concept of supply chain agility reflects a complex philosophy, which is not about rules and procedures which can be easily imple-mented or imitated,but about coordination and integration among dif-ferent channel members across the supply chain[7,46,65,66].This agility requires thefirm“to supervi cloly the legally parate but op-erationally interdependent parties,such as suppliers,manufacturers,and distributions,to maintain a clo and coordinating relationship”[46]. This requirement means that supply chain agility can define how well thefirm collaborates with channel partners in building complementary resources and developing knowledge sharing routines,thereby jointly managing market changes[1,7,15,73].Therefore,supply chain agility could act as a rare,valuable,and imperfectly imitable operational capa-bility,which is critical to improvingfirm performance[46,66].空的拼音
In particular,supply chain agility can help afirm achieve high cus-tomer responsiveness and master marketplace changes through in-formation integration[11,23,73].This integration improves the visibility of the supply chain and enables thefirm to n market-place changes in real time,thereby
reducing the cost of demand un-certainty[7,27,37,79].Furthermore,supply chain agility enables the firm to coordinate with channel partners with a shared vision on planning and business process[1,7].This coordination decreas potential conflicts and opportunistic behaviors within the supply chain,and motivates thefirm to pool and deploy resources with channel partners to enhance the efficiency of products and rvice de-livery[27].Hence,supply chain agility not only enables thefirm to
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improve its daily operations,but also helps it reduce costs and in-crea profitability[1,58,65].
H1.Afirm's supply chain agility is positively related to thefirm's performance.
2.2.Absorptive capacity
地层年代Absorptive capacity refers to afirm's ability to recognize the value of new external knowledge as well as assimilate and commercialize it [10,18,71,82].Absorptive capacity involves a collection of routines to manage knowledge and the cumulative influences of continuous learning in thefirm[10,18,71].It als
o enables market knowledge creation bad on afirm's prior related-knowledge,effective learning routines,and rich communication[10,42,71].Recently,scholars characterized absorptive capacity as a crucial dynamic capability pertaining to knowledge creation and utilization in knowledge-bad competition,which can help thefirm gain and sustain compet-itive advantage[42,49,82].By effectively redefining and deploying the firm's knowledge-bad asts,thefirm with high absorptive capacity would be amenable to change,thus reshaping its operational capabil-ities to improve performance[49,82].
Bad on the dynamic capabilities perspective,we propo ab-sorptive capacity as an important source of superiorfirm perfor-mance.Specifically,afirm with a high level of absorptive capacity is likely to harness new knowledge obtained from external sources (e.g.,customers,suppliers,competitors,and other channel partners) and to apply the new knowledge to identify business opportunities in the market[18,42,82].For example,with absorptive capacity,a firm can effectively acquire new external knowledge about customer preferences,technology innovation,emerging markets,and so on. This acquisition would then help thefirm n environmental uncertainties,understand market tendencies,and catch market op-portunities,which would be critical to increasing market share and improving profitability.Furthermore,absorptive capac
ity ensures ef-ficient internal knowledge processing[10,18,69,71,82].It also facili-tates the establishment of formal and informal networks within the firm to transfer knowledge extensively across different functional de-partments[69,82].Thus,thefirm can effectively learn how to apply the new knowledge to reengineer its process and improve its prod-ucts and rvices.
H2.Afirm's absorptive capacity is positively related to thefirm's performance.
The literature indicates that afirm's operational capability can be fostered by its dynamic capability[12,29,49,83].Pavolou and Sawy [49]propod that thefirm's dynamic capability can act as the strate-gic options which enables thefirm to shape the existing operational capability when the opportunity or need aris.In the existing ab-sorptive capacity rearch,scholars further propo that utilizing ex-ternal knowledge is a major determinant of thefirm's operational capability[42,82].Agility rearch also posits that thefirm's agility is determined by the degree of knowledge reach and richness the firm can achieve[58].This capability indicates that the foundation of thefirm's competitive advantage is to make u of absorptive ca-pacity to develop a unique operational capability,such as agility [49,71].
Accordingly,we propo that afirm's absorptive capacity is posi-tively related to its supply chain agilit
y.Specifically,afirm with supe-rior absorptive capacity is adept at nsing market changes and learning from experiences[42].This ability helps thefirm establish rich communications with channel partners using an enriched knowledge ba,thus increasing the visibility of the supply chain. Furthermore,absorptive capacity helps thefirm develop a shared un-derstanding with channel partners by transforming and exploiting newly acquired knowledge.Such insight can help synchronize part-ners'tasks,resources,and channel administration[42,71].Finally, the renewed knowledge ba would help thefirm understand the market and partners'opinions and values better,thereby enhancing shared values across the supply chain to ensure the supply chain agil-ity[71].
H3.Afirm's absorptive capacity is positively related to its supply chain agility.
Fig.1.Hypothesized model.
1454H.Liu et al./Decision Support Systems54(2013)1452–1462
2.3.IT capabilities
2.3.1.Flexible IT infrastructure
Flexible IT infrastructure refers to afirm's ability to establish a complete t of technological resources,which provides the founda-tion for the development of IT applications[9,54,59].In particular, IT infrastructure includes the computing platform,communication networks,critical shared data,and core data processing applications. ITflexibility reflects the extent to which the elements are connec-tive,compatible,and modular[54].Specifically,aflexible IT infra-structure is characterized by(1)connectivity,or the connections between any IT component and other components within thefirm or with channel partners;(2)compatibility,or the ability to share any type of information,such as data,video,image,text,and audio, among others,across any IT component within thefirm or with chan-nel partners;and(3)modularity,or the ability to add,modify,and re-move any element of the infrastructure with ea and without major overall effects[8,9,16,46,50].
Aflexible IT infrastructure can improve absorptive capacity via en-hancing knowledge reach and richness[54,86].In particular,this capa-bility helps thefirm standardize,update,and connect IT components, thereby facilitating the integration of data sources within and across or-ganizational boundaries[36,54].More specifically,the connectivity of IT components enables thefirm to communicate and exchange knowl-edge efficiently with channel partners,thereby expanding thefirm's knowledge reach[42].Moreover,IT connectivity breaks the organiza-tional silos and enables thefirm to transfer and recombine knowledge across functional units.In addition,compatibility of IT components en-ables thefirm to share knowledge with rich data format within thefirm and with channel partners.With compatible IT,thefirm shares explicit knowledge by document,text,and data,as well as exchanges tacit knowledge through picture,video,and audio,thus enhance its knowl-edge richness[42,58].Furthermore,modularity of IT components en-ables thefirm to modify the infrastructure to meet various knowledge management ,in e-business),and ensures that the firm can exchange and process knowledge with low technologic constraints.
H4a.Afirm'sflexible IT infrastructure is positively related to its ab-sorptive capacity.
Aflexible IT infrastructure also leads to a high level of supply chain agility.First,the connectivity of IT components helps thefirm consol-idate informationflow with channel partners using an integrated tec
hnological interface.This consolidation enables thefirm to have a smoothflow of information concerning products,orders,and inven-tory across the supply chain to increa channel visibility[52,86]. Furthermore,IT compatibility helps thefirm span organizational boundaries and make data,information,and knowledge readily avail-able in thefirm[16].This compatibility would facilitate thefirm's col-laboration with channel partners as they perform complex activities (e.g.,joint planning,on demand forecast,and new product/rvice development)that facilitate the development of supply chain agility. Finally,a high degree of modularity enables interoperability among various IT components to facilitate the rapid development of new ap-plications[16,50].Such modularity also helps thefirm adapt its IT ap-plications and integrate the with channel partners'systems,thus allowing them to jointly respond to marketplace changes to increa supply chain agility.
H4b.Afirm'sflexible IT infrastructure is positively related to the firm's supply chain agility.
2.3.2.IT assimilation
IT assimilation refers to the ability to diffu and routinize IT appli-cations in business process within and across organizational boundaries[3,40,74].Specifically,this ability facilitates afirm's u of advanced IT ,e-business technologies)in coordi-nated business activities,such as co
mmunication,marketing,pro-curement,logistics,and inventory,among others[44].Meanwhile, IT assimilation ensures that thefirm pays strong attention to IT appli-cations when making strategy decisions on interorganizational col-laborations,such as customer relationship management and supply chain integration[3,39,44].Scholars suggest that IT assimilation can help bridge the traditional gaps between functions within thefirm or with channel partners,thus leading to the development of dynamic capability and operational capability[49,53,74].
爱就是爱
IT assimilation can facilitate knowledge management using advanced IT applications to support interorganizational communication and infor-mation processing[42].For example,thefirm can extend its channel partner ba from a narrow and proprietary network to a broad and open network by using e-business tools,such as e-procurement and Internet-enabled supply chain management systems[41,86].This capa-bility extends thefirm's knowledge reach and richness within the supply chain.In addition,IT assimilation helps thefirm bridge the traditional re-lationship gaps that exist between functions within thefirm.The diffusion of IT applications also helps departments work together to assimilate,transform,and commercialize newly acquired external knowledge[42].For example,using an internal virtual community or electronic knowledge repositories,different functional units can effi-ciently exchange,recombine,and create knowledge[32].Therefore,IT assimilation would
help afirm improve theflow of knowledge,its access to stored knowledge,and the assimilation and commercialization of the acquired knowledge[37,42,49].
H5a.Afirm's IT assimilation is positively related to thefirm's absorp-tive capacity.
Similarly,IT assimilation improves supply chain agility becau dif-fusing advanced IT applications enables afirm to effectively connect with its customers,suppliers,and other significant business partners [3,44,51,79,81].In particular,assimilating advanced IT applications, such as e-business tools,helps thefirm develop an integrated informa-tionflow with channel partners through an integrated technological platform with open standards[86].This integrated informationflow enables thefirm to achieve rich content as well as reliable,and real-time information across the supply chain to improve the supply chain's transparency.Such transparency allows thefirm to immediately identify qualified products that are suitable for its requirements[44]. Thefirm can also locate competent suppliers and respond to market changes efficiently and effectively through the u of advanced IT appli-cations[37,44,66].Furthermore,firms with a better ability to u interorganizational systems,such as supply chain management and customer relationship management systems,can achieve better syn-chronization and coordination with channel partners[37,41,62].Assim-ilating the systems into business process enables real-time analysis and insights that provide support for op
erational,tactical,and strategy decisions[81].Meanwhile,IT assimilation helps thefirm design metrics and analytics to estimate the real-time status of business process,in-tegration between process,and advance warnings of performance degradation in the process[81].Such information facilitates the build-ing of shared interpretation,connsus,and values required for supply chain agility[41,49].
H5b.Afirm's IT assimilation is positively related to thefirm's supply chain agility.
In addition,previous works indicate that aflexible IT infrastruc-ture is esntial for afirm attempting to develop a high level of IT as-similation[3,9].Specifically,aflexible IT infrastructure provides an efficient platform that supports advanced IT applications such as e-business tools[85].For example,the connectivity of IT infrastruc-ture enables the integration between different IT components within and across organizational boundaries.Infrastructure connectivity also helps thefirm diffu IT applications to different departments and
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channel partners[59].Such compatibility enables thefirm to easily migrate data between new IT applications and old information sys-tems that,in turn,facilitates the implementation of new systems [3,9,59].Furthermore,the modularity enables fast development and deployment of new IT applications,becau it enables thefirm to re-combine existing IT components.
H6.Afirm'sflexible IT infrastructure is positively related to thefirm's IT assimilation.
3.Method
3.1.Sample and data collection
We conducted a survey in China to test the rearch model.China has become the world's manufacturing center of consumer products and a global economic power.However,the prent study requires the respondents to have specific knowledge of information systems and supply chain management,which makes data collection through a survey questionnaire difficult.Under this condition,we worked with a Chine educational institution to make our survey feasible. This institution is well known for its executive training programs,es-pecially the training on supply chain management and information systems concepts.With the help of the institution,we communicated with the Chamber of Commerce,who members were executives who received education or trainin
g from this institution.Through the Chamber of Commerce,we obtained a list of1000firms located in the industrial parks of the Yangzi River Delta in China.
From each of thefirms,one nior ,the vice presi-dent of IT,chief technology officer,and chief operations officer)who obtained training from the institution was lected to rve as the key informant.Although the u of a single respondent may not be ideal forfirm-level studies,this approach is common among recent empirical studies such as tho investigating IT and supply chain management [11,33,43].Specifically,the nior executives were knowledgeable about the related issues being examined in this rearch,such as supply chain management and IT.Furthermore,nior or middle management executives have the power and opportunity to either make executive decisions that affect theirfirms'operations,such as tho regarding IT investment and supply chain relationships.We required the respon-dents to lect their company's most significant channel partner,and to answer all questions bad on their understanding of their companies and their relationships with the lected channel partner.A significant channel partner was defined as a dominant partner who commands a significant proportion of the focalfirm's primary product(s)or product line(s)[52].
To encourage respon,follow-up emails and telephone calls were made to non-respondents after w
e nt out the questionnaires.Final-ly,we received293returned questionnaires,ven of which were in-complete and thus discarded.A total of286completed questionnaires provided the study with a respon rate of approximately28.6%.Fol-lowing Armstrong and Overton[2],we tested for the potential non-respon bias.Comparing the chi-squares of the key measures of the respons from thefirst25%of the respondents and tho of the final25%,we found that there were no significant differences be-tween the two groups on the items.This result indicated that non-respon bias was not rious in this study.Table1shows the de-mographic information of the sample.
Furthermore,a one-way ANOVA was employed to test the poten-tial difference between data collected from the informants in the IT function and from tho in the non-IT function,as well as between data collected from the manufacturing and rvice industries.The re-sults showed no significant differences at the0.01significance level for all wo IT capabilities,absorptive capacity,supply chain agility,andfirm performance)both between the two functional groups and between the two industries.This result indicates that it is appropriate to combine the ts of data as a single sample in the fol-lowing data analysis.
3.2.Measures
We developed the structured questionnaire in the following stages:(1)literature review to identify previously validated mea-sures,(2)development of a draft version,(3)review of draft by invit-ed academics and practitioners,(4)pilot test,and(5)refinements to the questionnaire.To form a translation committee of bilinguals[72], we invited three native Chine speakers who werefluent in English to help translate the English questionnaire into Chine.Then,we translated the Chine questionnaire back into English to ensure that there were no mantic discrepancies between the Chine and the original English versions.All measures were assd with five-point Likert scales,ranging from“strongly disagree”to“strongly agree.”The Appendix A shows the items in the questionnaire.
3.2.1.IT capabilities
We measuredflexible IT infrastructure on a four-item scale adapted from Ray et al.[54]and Saraf et al.[59].The measures asked each respondent to evaluate the connectivity,compatibility, and modularity of thefirm's IT infrastructure.IT assimilation was measured on a four-item scale adapted from Liang et al.[40].The measures asked respondents to evaluate the extent to which IT appli-cations were ud in the companies'business process,functional areas,and management and operations at high levels.
3.2.2.Absorptive capacity
According to the existing literature(,[30,42,82]),absorp-tive capacity is a cond-order construct with the dimensions of ac-quisition,assimilation,transformation,and exploitation.Acquisition focus on the ability to identify and acquire new relevant knowl-edge,which is critical to operations;assimilation reflects the ability to absorb and understand the newly obtained knowledge;transfor-mation focus on the ability to combine the existing knowledge and the newly obtained knowledge;and exploitation refers to the ability to u the new knowledge to achieve afirm's objectives.We adapted12items from Pavlou and El Sawy[49]and Jann et al.
[30]to measure the four dimensions,with three items each for acqui-sition,assimilation,transformation,and exploitation.
Table1
paidu
Sample demographic(n=286).
N Percentage
Industry
心情说说很现实的说说Manufacturing13748.02% Service14951.98% Ownership
State owned9834.27% Privately owned7526.22% Foreign controlled11339.51%
夏季海滩Number of employees
≤1005218.18%
100–5006823.78%
500–10004114.34%
1000–2000227.69% More than200010336.01%秦华礼
Number of employees
≤511640.56%
6–105017.48%什么样的态度
11–25217.34% More than259934.62%
1456H.Liu et al./Decision Support Systems54(2013)1452–1462
