Managerial Interpretations of the Role of Information Systems in Competitive Actions and Firm Performance: A Grounded Theory Investigation

Abstract

Using an interpretive grounded theory research approach, we investigate the utilization of organization-wide information systems in the competitive actions and responses undertaken by top managers to sustain their firms' leading competitive position. Our central contribution is a model that explicates the role of information systems in the process by which competitive actions or responses are conceived, enacted, and executed, and resulting impacts on firm performance—issues that have been largely missing from contemporary research in both the information systems and competitive dynamics domains. This study has important implications for both research and practice. Specifically, researchers should consider organizational context; the intentions and actions of key players; and the process of conceiving, enacting, and executing competitive actions or responses carried out by the organization to account for the impact of information systems on firm performance. Findings suggest that when managers envision information systems as a resource that provides opportunities for competitive actions rather than viewing information systems in a service role, competitive advantages will evolve. Furthermore, practitioners will be better able to leverage information systems investments if they recognize the embedded role of information systems within the competitive actions or responses a firm undertakes to maintain or improve relative performance.

Leveraging Information Technology Infrastructure to Facilitate a Firm's Customer Agility and Competitive Activity: An Empirical Investigation

“…by examining the link between customer agility and competitive activity, we identify a valuable, tangible outcome of dynamic capabilities. In doing so, our study also complements recent work on the role of It in competitive dynamics [47,99]. competitive dynamics researchers tend to focus on the quantity or repertoire of actions a firm undertakes [48], as opposed to the quality or efficacy of actions.…”

Symbolic Action Research in Information Systems: Introduction to the Special Issue

“…decision making (Shaw and Stahl 2011;Vieira da Cunha 2013), and the behavior of firms (Vannoy and Salam 2010). Six of these articles brought a symbolic action motivated research approach to other types of information system theory, such as, Gasson's (2006) qualitative-interpretive investigation of boundary spanning during information systems design that engaged with Checkland's theory of systems design (Checkland 1994;Checkland and Holwell 1998).…”

Winning the SDG battle in cities: how an integrated information ecosystem can contribute to the achievement of the 2030 sustainable development goals

“…IS researchers have found GTM useful for investigating a variety of questions (e.g. Orlikowski, ; Vannoy & Salam, ) as GTM is particularly appropriate for investigating questions of process and context (Urquhart & Fernandez, ) and new organizational phenomenon, such as we seek to understand in the present research. Using GTM, researchers engage in a constant dialogue with the data to discover the central theoretical formulation (Jones & Noble, ; Corbin & Strauss, ).…”