| This study investigates multiple ways of IT valuation and explores how these approaches can shed light on the paradoxical nature of IT value. Multiple logics of valuation are taken into account in order to examine both the economic and organizational level benefits of IT and the interplay between these two levels. Four contrasting forms of valuation logic—routinizing, cost-structuring, positioning, and learning—are proposed as a more comprehensive framework of IT benefits. A multi-dimensional measurement model is proposed and hypotheses are developed to test the relationship between these logics of IT valuation and organizational performance. A survey questionnaire is then administered to executive-level managers working in a wide range of companies.; Findings suggest that all four forms of logic are positively associated with the perceived IT contribution to the business. However, when relating these logics to perceived company performance, only two logics of cost-structuring and learning bring about positive outcomes. The other two logics of routinizing and positioning are not significantly associated with performance outcomes. These findings suggest that managers assess their investment decisions within the parameters of a specific logic, despite the fact that each of these multiple logics has differential potential impacts on the delivery of company performance. This gap between the model of value justification (or decision making) and the model of actual value generation provides an important clue to paradoxical IT performance impacts, especially with regard to ‘where’ such paradoxes are located inside organizations. |
