Jose Benitez-Amado

Adoption of e‐commerce applications in SMEs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors within the technology‐organization‐environment (TOE) framework that affect the decision to adopt electronic commerce (EC) and extent of EC adoption, as well as adoption and non‐adoption of different EC applications within small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire‐based survey was conducted to collect data from 235 managers or owners of manufacturing SMEs in Iran. The data were analyzed by employing factorial analysis and relevant hypotheses were derived and tested by multiple and logistic regression analysis.Findings – EC adoption within SMEs is affected by perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility, CEOs innovativeness, information intensity, buyer/supplier pressure, support from technology vendors, and competition. Similarly, description on determinants of adoption and non‐adoption of different EC applications has been provided.Research limitations/implications – Cross‐sectional data ...

Information Technology, the Organizational Capability of Proactive Corporate Environmental Strategy and Firm Performance: A Resource-Based Analysis

The study of the relationships between information technology (IT), environmental organizational issues and firm performance is a cutting-edge research topic for the information systems (IS) community. However, at present we know very little about these relationships. Drawing on the perspective of IT-enabled organizational capabilities and the literature on organizations and the natural environment, our study introduces conceptually the construct organizational capability of proactive corporate environmental strategy to the IS field. We propose that IT capability may enable the implementation of a proactive environmental strategy and that this strategy could play a significant role in determining the business value of IT. Using structural equations modeling with data collected from 63 firms, we find that IT capability is an enabler of proactive environmental strategy and that this strategy plays a significant role in mediating the effects of IT on firm performance. Our study provides initial evidence on the role of IT in the implementation of proactive environmental practices. Our results suggest to IT executives that their decisions matter in shaping environmental sustainability, which in turn will generate business value from IT.

IT capabilities and product innovation performance

Despite a plethora of studies that demonstrate the positive impacts of information technology (IT) capabilities on innovation performance, our knowledge of the processes through which such gains are achieved and their susceptibility to environmental factors remains limited. This paper fills these gaps by examining the roles of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and competitive intensity at the firm level, thereby contributing to research on IT business value. Using data from manufacturing firms in China, we find that CE fully mediates the effect of IT capabilities on product innovation performance and that competitive intensity moderates the proposed relationships.

How do small firms learn to develop a social media competence

Leveraging social media for marketing activities remains crucial for small firms.We examine how small firms learn to develop a social media competence.Empirical study with a unique secondary dataset on a sample of 100 U.S. small firms.We introduce the construct social media competence and a good proxy to measure this construct.The study shows the mechanisms through which small firms learn to develop a social media competence. Social media can be leveraged to improve the firms business activities to create value. Because small firms have a lower portfolio of financial resources to compete more effectively in the market, social media capabilities can become more important for small than large firms. However, prior research has failed in explaining the variables through which small firms can learn to adopt social media. Our study is a first effort to address this research gap. We propose a conceptual model in which social competitor pressure, IT infrastructure capability, two organizational capabilities (marketing management and innovation management) and firm size enable small firms to learn to develop a social media competence. The model is tested using the partial least squares-based structural equation modeling technique employing a unique secondary dataset on a sample composed of the 100 small U.S. firms included in the 2013 Forbes Americas Best Small Companies ranking. The empirical analysis suggests that IT infrastructure capability, social competitor pressure, marketing management and innovation management are key mechanisms through which small firms learn to develop a social media competence. The empirical analysis also suggests that social media competence is more important for the smallest manufacturing firms even among a sample of small firms.

Managerial perceptions of the competitive environment and dynamic capabilities generation

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to study empirically the influence of managerial perceptions of the environment on dynamic capabilities (DC) generation. It seeks to identify three dimensions of competitive environment (dynamism, complexity, and munificence) and then use the theoretical model developed by Zollo and Winter to explain DC creation.Design/methodology/approach – The authors use data collected from 200 Spanish firms through a questionnaire to perform multiple and simple regression analyses that examine the relationship between managerial perceptions and DC generation.Findings – It is found that managerial perception of munificence in the environment is related positively and significantly to the processes of DC creation; only when managers perceive the environment as highly dynamic and complex do they promote processes for developing DC.Practical implications – The findings suggest that managerial cognition plays an important role in DC processes. Thus, managers should evaluate their mental m...

How information technology influences environmental performance

IT can be a solution for environmental management and sustainability.We examine how IT influences environmental performance.We conduct an empirical study with a sample of 151 Chinese firms.IT competence enables the integration of IT in environmental management processes.This IT integration improves environmental performance. Information technology (IT) can be the problem and solution for environmental sustainability. While IT is a source of environmental contamination during manufacturing and disposal, IT also presents opportunities for firms to greening IT and/or increasing their efficiency of resource use. We examine the role of IT as a solution possibility for environmental management and sustainability by analyzing how IT influences environmental performance. We propose a model in which IT influences environmental performance by enabling the integration of IT in environmental management processes. The proposed model is tested by using the variance-based structural equation modeling technique with matched-pair survey data from a sample of 151 Chinese firms. We find that: (1) Firms proficiency in leveraging IT technical infrastructure flexibility, IT personnel skills and IT-business alignment enables the integration of IT in the environmental management processes to improve environmental performance, and (2) this IT integration is stronger when the firm is more oriented to environmental sustainability. We introduce to information systems community the construct IT-environmental management integration, and we explain theoretically and test empirically the role of IT-environmental management integration as a key mechanism through which IT competence influences environmental performance.

Information technology‐enabled quality performance: an exploratory study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of information technology (IT) competence – composed of IT infrastructure, IT technical and managerial knowledge and the integration of IT strategy with firm strategy – on quality performance. Since, according to the resource‐based view, IT alone is not able to sustain a competitive advantage, the moderating effect of leadership practice on this relationship must be analyzed.Design/methodology/approach – A proposed research model is tested using survey data from a sample of 230 leading Spanish firms. Multiple regression analysis was performed with SPSS package.Findings – The main findings show that: the existence of an IT competence will have a partial impact on improvement in quality performance; IT technical knowledge in itself does not influence the determination of improvement in quality performance – rather, one needs complementarity with leadership; and the impact of IT dimensions on quality performance will be greater in the presence of l...

IT impact on talent management and operational environmental sustainability

We examine the impact of information technology (IT) on talent management and operational environmental sustainability and propose a model in which IT infrastructure capability enables the firm’s operational environmental sustainability through talent management. We test the proposed model using the structural equation modeling technique with an innovative secondary data set collected for a sample of 63 large Spanish firms. We find that a firm’s proficiency in leveraging IT infrastructure improves the management of talent, which in turn enables execution of a more environmentally sustainable operations strategy to increase firm performance. This paper has three key contributions. First, as the first study of talent management in the context of IT and environmental sustainability, it provides a better understanding of the concept of talent management. We explain theoretically and test empirically how IT infrastructure capability influences operational environmental sustainability through talent management. Second, since we find that IT infrastructure capability increases firm performance through talent management and operational environmental sustainability, our research also improves knowledge of how IT infrastructure capability influences firm performance. Finally, this study advances theoretical conceptualization of operational capabilities, and the relationships between IT infrastructure capability and dynamic and operational capabilities.

The relationships between learning in alliances, information technology and innovation-supportive culture capabilities

To the best of our knowledge, alliances literature does not examine sufficiently which specific capabilities firms can develop or enhance by working with alliance partners. In addition, very little information systems research tests the link between information technology (IT) and development of a culture supporting innovation. Nor have these literatures properly analysed if and how IT could moderate the interface between learning in alliances and innovative capabilities. This study examines the relationships between learning in alliances, IT management and innovation-supportive culture, placing special emphasis on testing the moderating role of IT management in the relationship between learning in alliances and innovation-supportive culture. Using survey data from a sample of 203 Spanish firms we find that both learning in alliances and IT management positively affect innovation-supportive culture. Further, the results support the moderating role of IT management capability in the relationship between learning in alliances and innovation-supportive culture.

Exploitation versus exploration: the influence of manufacturing flexibility and the environment

Environmental dynamics have transformed manufacturing flexibility into one of the strategic keys for organisations. This paper analyses whether the implementation of manufacturing flexibility, as solution to the continuous changes of the environment, will encourage exploration of new knowledge and exploitation of a company’s abilities. This relationship was measured in 231 production firms. The results obtained show that the firms develop exploration of new knowledge at the same time as they exploit their abilities. The results also show that some of the dimensions of manufacturing flexibility encourage the development of both exploration and exploitation. Finally, we find a moderator effect in these relationships if we take into account environmental dynamics.