The Moderator of Innovation Culture and the Mediator of Realized Absorptive Capacity in Enhancing Organizations' Absorptive Capacity for SPI Success

Jung-Chieh Lee,Chung-Yang Chen

doi:10.4018/jgim.2019100104

Abstract

Software process improvement (SPI) is critical to information system development. In the context of successful SPI, this research focuses on a firm's dynamic learning ability to see how it facilitates an effective means of acquiring and utilizing external SPI knowledge in responding to changing software development environments. Specifically, the authors propose a research model to investigate how two mechanisms of absorptive capacity are incorporated with innovation culture as a contextual factor to enable successful software process improvement. A survey was conducted including 125 SPI certified firms in China and Taiwan to examine the model. The findings indicate that a firm's potential absorptive capacity significantly influences realized absorptive capacity, which has a significant impact on SPI success and acts as a partial mediator between potential absorptive capacity and SPI success. Moreover, the results suggest that the mediating effect of potential absorptive capacity on SPI success via realized absorptive capacity is amplified when innovation culture is imposed.

Highlights

Software process improvement (SPI) is important for firms and business units because it enhances and sustains their competitive advantage in the business market (Lee et al, 2016)
The findings indicate that a firm’s potential absorptive capacity significantly influences realized absorptive capacity, which has a significant impact on SPI success and acts as a partial mediator between potential absorptive capacity and SPI success
SPI implementation often relies on SPI knowledge, skills, expertise, experience, methodologies, technical support from external sources – e.g., external mediating institutions, such as SPI consulting firms and vendors – and external knowledge bodies, such as the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and the International Standards Organization (ISO), to address challenges that arise during implementation (Feher and Gabor, 2006; Meehan and Richardson, 2002)

Summary

Introduction

Software process improvement (SPI) is important for firms and business units because it enhances and sustains their competitive advantage in the business market (Lee et al, 2016). Software development is knowledge intensive in innovation and mutual learning and often takes advantage of external sources to advance software development processes (Matusik and Heeley, 2005). SPI implementation often relies on SPI knowledge, skills, expertise, experience, methodologies, technical support from external sources – e.g., external mediating institutions, such as SPI consulting firms and vendors – and external knowledge bodies, such as the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and the International Standards Organization (ISO), to address challenges that arise during implementation (Feher and Gabor, 2006; Meehan and Richardson, 2002). The existing literature does not fully grasp how to address a firm’s learning ability to internalize external SPI knowledge nor addresses how organizational learning continually supports changing SPI needs under dynamic environments

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion