W e theoretically and empirically investigate the relationship between information technology (IT) and firm innovation. Invoking absorptive capacity (ACAP) theory, we introduce and develop the concepts of three types of IT-enabled knowledge capabilities. Firm innovation is examined through two observable innovation outcomes: patents, and new product and service introductions. These innovation outcomes are often labeled as competitive actions aggressively undertaken by firms to gain market share or to achieve profitability. We use secondary data about IT-enabled knowledge capabilities and innovation outcomes of 110 firms. Our data results provide strong support for our main assertion that knowledge capabilities that are enhanced through the use of IT contribute to firm innovation. The study's findings suggest that the three types of IT-enabled knowledge capabilities have differential effects on firm innovation. This study substantially contributes to the information systems (IS) research, methodology, and practice in multiple ways.Key words: absorptive capacity; business value of IT; competitive impacts of IS; firm innovation; IT-enabled knowledge capability; knowledge management; strategic management of IT History: Rajiv Sabherwal, Senior Editor. This paper was received on June 1, 2008, and was with the authors 10 1 2 months for 3 revisions.

The authors integrate the entrepreneurship literature's sociological and behavioural perspectives and examine the processes through which entrepreneurs first build social networks and then use the network resources for enhancing venture performance. Field interviews of entrepreneurs during a six-month period reveal that political skill is an important individual-level factor that influences the construction and use of social networks. Theoretical and practical implications of the major findings are discussed.

R esearchers in competitive dynamics have demonstrated that firms that carry out intense, complex, and heterogeneous competitive actions exhibit better performance. However, there is a need to understand factors that enable firms to undertake competitive actions. In this study, we focus on two antecedents of competitive behavior of firms: (1) access to network resources and (2) use of information technology (IT). We argue that while network structure provides firms with the opportunity to tap into external resources, the extent to which they are actually exploited depends on firms' IT-enabled capability. We develop a theoretical model that examines the relationships between IT-enabled capability, network structure, and competitive action. We test the model using secondary data, about 12 major automakers over 16 years from 1988 to 2003. We find that network structure rich in structural holes has a positive direct effect on firms' ability to introduce a greater number and a wider range of competitive actions. However, the effect of dense network structure is contingent on firms' IT-enabled capability. Firms benefit from dense network structure only when they develop a strong IT-enabled capability. Our results suggest that IT-enabled capability plays both a substitutive role, when firms do not have advantageous access to brokerage opportunities, and a complementary role, when firms are embedded in dense network structure, in the relationship between network structure and competitive actions.

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Purpose-To develop a process model of interorganizational systems (IOS) collaboration and systematic framework for understanding and classifying IOS technologies for interorganizational collaboration. Design/methodology/approach-This paper synthesizes relevant concepts and findings in the IOS, economics, and management literature. It also presents empirical examples to illustrate key issues, practices, and solutions involved in IOS collaboration. Findings-An integrative model of IOS collaboration is introduced and knowledge sharing, participative decision making, and conflict governance identified as three behavioral process elements underlying effective interorganizational collaboration. Extending Kumar and van Dissel's IOS framework to directly recognize these elements, a more complete collaboration-oriented framework for characterizing key elements of interorganizational collaboration and classifying IOS technologies is developed. Research limitations/implications-This paper brings together diverse ideas into a systematic view of collaboration via interorganizational systems. It contributes to a deeper, fuller understanding of issues involved in achieving collaborative advantage with IOS technologies. The paper also identifies factors and relationships that researchers should consider in designing empirical studies, posing hypotheses about collaboration via IOS, and analyzing results. Practical implications-The model and framework can serve as a checklist of considerations that need to be dealt with by leaders of collaboration-oriented IOS initiatives. The IOS framework and technology classification may also suggest ways in which IT vendors might provide better technological solutions, services, and software for interorganizational collaboration.