Application Capability Of Enterprises' Information System:the Thoretical Constructs And Empircal Study

The application of information system(IS)has penetrated into all aspects of social economy,having profound impacts on Companies' core strategies and operation management.However,there are significant differences regarding the application results of ISs among various companies.Some companies apply IS in an effective way to increase their competitiveness and performance,while others cannot achieve the desired effect or even encounter failure,resulting in a tremendous waste of information technology investment.Therefore,it is hence of vital importance to clarify the process and mechanism of IS application in companies by theory and practice,so as to identify the key factors that lead to successful applications of IS.Based on IS capacity views and the strategy management theory,we analyze the IS value-creation process model,and propose the concepts of IS application Capability and IS core application capacity.Drawing upon the characteristics and composition of these two capabilities,we construct the IS-value creation model,the process of which can be divided into IS capability forming stage and the IS operating stage.The transformation of capability pertinent to each stage is then examined and further validated by an empirical survey among 201 companies in China.Major findings of this study are highlighted as follows.(1)Defined related concepts,and reviewed previous studies on this issue.The key concepts involved in this paper,including resources,capability,core competence,competitive advantage,company performance,etc.,are defined and compared.We then review studies on IS-value creation from the perspectives of resources and capabilities,dynamic capabilities,and organizational learning.Finally,by examining current findings on IS capability,we point out the research areas that need further improvement,and put forward the main research questions of this dissertation.(2)Proposed the concepts of IS application capability and IS core capability,and analyzed their features respectively.We regard the IS value-creation stages as a threefold process,i.e.,the transformation of information technology resources,the operation of IS and the market competition.On their bases,we propose the concepts of IS application capability and IS core capability.The IS application capability refers to the ability that companies build up high quality ISs to increase their competitiveness and performance through effective allocations of information technology resources.The IS core application capability,however,concerns the ability to apply IS to enhance companies'competitiveness by means of the rare,inimitable and irreplaceable properties embodied in the IS application capability.Having identified the characteristics associated with the two capabilities,we put forward that the IS application capability is composed of two sub-capabilities:the IS development capability and IS operation capability.The IS development capability refers to those owned by companies in the process of IS development process.This capability,with the overall development strategy and the goal of the firm,can be employed to build up high quality IS by means of the effective allocation of information technology resources.The latter IS operation capability is concerned about the ability to use IS to support the operation of companies and the implementation of strategy management.The componential parts in relation to the two sub-capabilities are elaborated in great detail,and the moderating effect of market dynamics in two stages is analyzed.(3)Constructed the IS value-creation theoretical model,and put forward the research hypothesis.Based on the analysis of the relationship between the capability transformation in the process of IS value creation,we put forward the theoretical model of the IS-value creation,and divide the process into IS capability formation stage and IS capability operation stage.The mechanism and relationship of those two stages are addressed later on.Drawing upon the above theoretical analyses,we construct the theoretical model of IS capability formation stage and IS capability operation stage,and propose the hypothesis regarding the relationship between various constructs in the two-stage model.(4)Designed an empirical study.Through the analysis of the above theoretical model,we intend to use the following initial measurements in our empirical study,such as information technology resources,IS development capability,IS capacity,IS operation capability,IS supporting competence,firm performance,and market dynamics.We then reduce those initial measuring scales and designed the final questionnaire according to the findings from a small-scale pilot survey.In addition to this,methodologies regarding the large-scale survey,including the methods and tools of sample selection,data collection and analysis,can also be found in Chapter X.(5)Discussed the data analysis and results,and drew the conclusions and practical implications.According to the requirements in the survey,we evaluated the measurement models of latent variables in the IS capability formation stage and IS capability operation stage.Confirmatory factor analysis was performed,and the structure of the latent variables and the validity of the measurement model were clarified.On this basis,we tested the hypothesis of the structural relationship model,and analyzed the regulatory effects of market dynamics on the relationship between the IS capability formation stage and the IS capability operation stage.Finally,we discussed the results from the empirical study,and hope these can shed some new light on companies' IS applications.