The Contingent Effect of IT Use on Product Innovation in the Transition Economy: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Feng Zhang, Geoffrey G. Bell, Dahui Li and Lidong Wu

Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 2023, vol. 26, issue 1, 25-46

Abstract: Scholars have developed a large and robust literature examining the impact of IT on firm innovation. However, this literature often produces divergent, likely context-dependent, results and tends to be limited to developed economies. As a result, we have only partial knowledge about how IT use impacts product innovation. This study rectifies that deficiency and resolves prior divergent findings by employing fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to investigate the contingent effects of IT use for exploration and exploitation on product innovation in China, which is transitioning from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. We draw on a unique sample of 262 Chinese manufacturing firms that responded to the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey and developed several configurations of conditions where IT use fostered product innovation depending on the institutional characteristics of a transitional economy, specifically its degree of market competitiveness and legal enforcement. Our findings share similarities to prior studies set in developed economies, while demonstrating features unique to a transition economy. Using a configurational approach reveals the combinational and asymmetric relationships among IT use, the institutional environment, and resultant product innovation. This helps understand situational characteristics often unexamined in prior studies and complements the findings from regression-based studies.

Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/1097198X.2023.2166751 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:ugitxx:v:26:y:2023:i:1:p:25-46

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/ugit20

DOI: 10.1080/1097198X.2023.2166751

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Global Information Technology Management is currently edited by Prashant Palvia

More articles in Journal of Global Information Technology Management from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().