Effects of technical IT capabilities on organizational agility

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to investigate how critical managerial IT capabilities, such as IT business spanning capability, interact with two pivotal types of technical IT capabilities (i.e. IT flexibility and IT integration) to affect organizational agility. Especially, the authors mainly examine a positive synergy or complementary relationship between IT business spanning capability and IT flexibility and a negative synergy or substitution relationship between IT business spanning capability and IT integration.Design/methodology/approachThe authors develop a research model that integrates IT flexibility, IT integration, IT business spanning capability and organizational agility. Based on a matched-pair, cross-sectional field survey of IT and business managers, they use partial least squares (PLS) to analyze this research model.FindingsIT flexibility and IT integration have been empirically proven to be positively associated with organizational agility. Furthermore, the research results indicate a positive synergy or complementary relationship between IT business spanning capability and IT flexibility, whereas they indicate a negative synergy or substitution relationship between IT business spanning capability and IT integration with regard to organizational agility. This finding demonstrates that IT business spanning capability can differentially influence organizational agility depending on its interaction with specific technical IT capability types. In addition, the effects of IT flexibility on organizational agility are high, whereas the effectiveness of IT integration decreases in the presence of high IT business spanning capability. Each type of technical IT capability displays different effectiveness under high IT business spanning capability. Thus, appropriate technical IT capability types should be carefully deployed, and highly effective technical IT capability types, such as IT flexibility, should be prioritized under high levels of IT business spanning capability.Originality/valueThis research highlights the joint effects of IT business spanning capability and two pivotal types of technical IT capabilities (i.e. IT flexibility and IT integration) on organizational agility, ultimately contributing to OM theories and practices.