From IT Leveraging Competence to Competitive Advantage in Turbulent Environments: The Case of New Product Development

Paul A. Pavlou () and Omar A. El Sawy ()
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Paul A. Pavlou: Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
Omar A. El Sawy: Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089

Information Systems Research, 2006, vol. 17, issue 3, 198-227

Abstract: A burning question for information systems (IS) researchers and practitioners is whether and how IT can build a competitive advantage in turbulent environments. To address this question, this study focuses on the business process level of analysis and introduces the construct of IT leveraging competence ---the ability to effectively use IT functionalities. This construct is conceptualized in the context of new product development (NPD). IT leveraging competence is shown to indirectly influence competitive advantage in NPD through two key mediating links: functional competencies (the ability to effectively execute operational NPD processes) and dynamic capabilities (the ability to reconfigure functional competencies to address turbulent environments). Environmental turbulence is also shown to moderate the process by which IT leveraging competence influences competitive advantage in NPD. Empirical data were collected from 180 NPD managers.Through the construct of IT leveraging competence, the study shows that the effective use of IT functionalities, even generic functionalities, by business units can help build a competitive advantage. The study also shows that the strategic effect of IT leveraging competence is more pronounced in higher levels of environmental turbulence. This effect is not direct: It is fully mediated by both dynamic capabilities and functional competencies. Taken together, these findings suggest that IS researchers should look beyond the direct effects of firm-level IT infrastructures and focus their attention on how business units can leverage IT functionalities to better reconfigure and execute business processes. In turbulent environments, focusing on these aspects is even more vital.

Keywords: IT competence; information systems strategy; environmental turbulence; dynamic capabilities; functional competencies; IT-enabled business processes; new product development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (189)

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