Information Technology Infrastructure Integration Research Articles

The Impact of Supply Chain Management Integration on Operational Performance

The purpose of this study is to confirm the research model related to the impact of supply chain management (SCM) integration on the operational performance based on the previous researches. These studies suggest that SCM integration plays a critical role in generating performance gains for firms. In the study, three constructs are extended, i.e. the information technology infrastructure integration, SCM process integration, and operational performance. A number of 146 large manufacturing companies in Indonesia were selected purposively as the samples. Questionnaires were distributed through email survey, while data were analyzed by structural equation modelling with Partial Least Square software to analyze the causal relationship among variables. The study found that information technology infrastructure integration does not influence significantly to supply chain process integration. Furthermore, supply chain process integration influences significantly to operational firm performance.

Information technology integration for accelerated knowledge sharing practices: challenges and prospects for small and medium enterprises

This paper argues that business enterprises in this competitive global market cannot compete and remain sustainable without effective knowledge sharing to improve business intelligence processes. The central argument hinges on the deployment and use of information technology (IT) as strategic tools to promote business decision making through quick business data analysis and dissemination of business ideas across business units and locations. The study reiterated the critical role IT plays in facilitating a culture of organizational learning and knowledge sharing practices. The study utilized surveys and questionnaires that were distributed to 230 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to present the results. Findings showed that firms are still using one-on-one meeting to share knowledge, while knowledge sharing activities are controlled through a rigid and inflexible process at the top management level, thereby hindering knowledge flow that is crucial for real-time decision making. The advances in IT have not been used advantageously to improve knowledge sharing and to advance business management. The paper concludes that without strong positive correlation between IT infrastructure integration, and communication strategies and knowledge sharing, the SMEs may not be able to compete in a highly competitive knowledge economy. Consequently, they may lose leverage to another competitor with more robust and mature IT infrastructure alignment for sharing business analytics and intelligence efficiently. A technologically driven, open, and informal approach to knowledge sharing for productive and innovative engagement is recommended. Furthermore, the use of IT that can promote agile and real-time knowledge sharing is recommended.

The effects of IT infrastructure integration and flexibility on supply chain capabilities and organizational performance: An empirical study of the electronics industry in Taiwan

In recent years, rapid development of information technology (IT) has forced companies to integrate tightly with their supply chain partners, enabling efficient information sharing between supply chain members and improving supply chain efficiency, in order to make their supply chain more flexible and efficient. IT therefore plays a critical role in supply chains. How to achieve higher organizational performance through IT in a complex and uncertain supply chain environment has become an important issue. Even though many practitioners and scholars have taken multiple points of view to investigate the effects of IT infrastructure capability on firms’ performance, little research has explored cause-and-effect relationships from the perspective of supply chain capabilities. Based on a resource-based view of the firm, this study develops a research framework for investigating the mediating role of supply chain capabilities in the relationships between IT infrastructure flexibility, integration, and firms’ performance. Data for the study were collected from 270 companies in the Taiwanese electronics industry and the relationships proposed in the framework were tested using the Partial Least Squares method. The results indicate that IT infrastructure integration and flexibility indirectly and positively impact organizational performance through the mediating effect of supply chain capability, and the mediating effect is a full mediation. The findings provide empirical support to resourced-based IT studies, which propose mediating IT impacts on organizational performance. This study should be useful to practitioners who implement IT strategy.

An empirical study of information technology infrastructure capability and its impact on digitally enabled customer management processes in life insurance companies

Academic marketing literatures have increasingly studied about customer management processes. However, there is limited investigation to understand the integration of information technology infrastructure to leverage customer management processes for performance gains. This paper provides an approach to address the impact of each of the individual information technology capabilities on customer management processes. It also provides an empirical analysis of the impact on intermediate business process outcome. The research model proposed is unique in its nature and attempted for the first time, where the academicians and the practitioners can gain insight into the impact of each individual information technology infrastructure capabilities on digitally enabled customer management business processes. This paper uses objective measurement for the process outcome relevant to the industry and customer management business processes. This approach is generic enough to apply for analysing impact of information technology capabilities on business processes specific to an industry.

RFID critical success factors and system deployment outcomes as mitigated by IT infrastructure integration and supply chain process integration

This study investigates how information technology (IT) infrastructure integration and supply chain process integration moderate the relationships between RFID critical success factors, and operational efficiency and market knowledge creation. Using the online survey method, members of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) were contacted and invited to participate in the study. A total of 126 firms responded to the study. The moderated regression method was used to analyse the survey data. All four proposed hypotheses were partially supported in this study. Between the two moderator variables, however, IT infrastructure integration tempered a greater degree of the variance between selected RFID critical success factors (i.e., identify an RFID champion, find the right technology partners, find willing trading partners, integrate RFID with other business applications, find data hosting and outsourcing ASP, conduct ROI analysis, share RFID costs with trading partners) and the dependent variables, operational efficiency and market knowledge creation.

Pursuing organisational learning using absorptive capacity capabilities and the role of IT Infrastructure in RFID system initiatives: a cluster analysis study

This study looks at firms' perceptions of the importance of absorptive capacity attributes in the deployment of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in a supply chain and their relationships with the firms' intentions to pursue supply chain process integration and Information Technology (IT) infrastructure support. Data for this pilot research study were collected using a survey questionnaire administered online to members of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP). Both the proposed hypotheses were supported in this study using the cluster data analysis procedure. The level of intention to cultivate absorptive capacity attributes, indeed, is positively associated with the level of intention to deploy both IT infrastructure integration and supply chain process integration.

Effects of Reciprocal Investments and Relational Interaction in Deploying RFID Supply Chain Systems

In this paper, the author looks at the perceived ability of information technology (IT) infrastructure integration and supply chain process integration. In order to moderate the relationship between business process specificity and domain knowledge specificity, the study focuses on two dependent variables; reciprocal investments and relational interaction using the moderated regression procedure. Results show that IT infrastructure integration moderates the relationship between business process specificity and relational interaction, as well as domain knowledge specificity and relational interaction.

Moderated Multiple Regression of Absorptive Capacity Attributes and Deployment Outcomes

In this study, the author examines organizations’ perceptions of the importance of absorptive capacity attributes in the deployment of radio frequency identification (RFID) in a supply chain and their relationships with operational efficiency and market knowledge creation as moderated by information technology infrastructure integration and supply chain process integration. Data was collected using a survey questionnaire administered online to members of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP). Four proposed hypotheses were partially supported in this study. Both variables, IT infrastructure integration and supply chain process integration, moderate the relationships between three predictor variables, business process modularity, standard electronic business interfaces, and breadth of information exchange and the two dependent variables examined in this study, operational efficiency and market knowledge creation to a considerable extent. This study has clear implications for how decision makers affecting their firm’s supply chains should make a business case for robust IT elements that support both IT infrastructure integration and supply chain process integration.

A Multiple Case Study on Integrating IT Infrastructures in the Public Domain

Local Government Authorities (LGAs) are complex organizations whose heterogeneous operational structures can be greatly enhanced by effectively using of Information Technology (IT) to support improvements in the quality of services offered to citizens. While the benefits of IT cannot be disputed, there are several concerns about its success as LGAs are confronted with the challenges of synchronizing their cross-departmental business processes and integrating autonomous IS. This article examines a potentially important area of IT infrastructure integration in LGAs through Enterprise Application Integration (EAI). The adoption of EAI solutions is a burgeoning phenomenon across several private and public organizations. Nevertheless, where EAI has added efficacy to the IT infrastructures in the private domain, LGAs have also been slow in adopting cost-effective EAI solutions. The shortage of research studies on EAI adoption in LGAs presents a knowledge gap that needs to be plugged. The research methodology followed consisted of an in-depth analysis of two case studies by using the research tools of interviews, observation and referring to archival documents. This research is timely as the demand for integrated service delivery increases, the issues of harmonizing business processes and integrating IS becomes pertinent. The conclusion and lessons that can be learnt from this research is that integrating IT infrastructures through EAI achieves significant efficiency in delivering end-to-end integrated electronic Government (e-Government) services.

An empirical study of the relationships between IT infrastructure flexibility, mass customization, and business performance

Information technology (IT) infrastructure deserves serious attention from both the practitioner and academic communities, especially concerning the factors for IT infrastructure flexibility. The issue of flexibility is viewed as a critical aspect of IT infrastructure, because organizations are faced with an ever-increasing rate of change in their business environments. One effort most business sectors have made to prepare for this change is the trend toward mass customization. Recently, many organizations have embraced mass customization in an attempt to provide unique value to their customers in a cost-efficient manner.The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate a sequential relationship between IT infrastructure flexibility, mass customization, and business performance. The process involves an investigation of the critical factors for IT infrastructure flexibility, along with the firm's mass customization and business performance indicators. The findings of this study provide evidence that integration and modularity of an organization's IT infrastructure facilitate the organization's effort to accommodate mass customization. Additionally, the flexibility of the IT personnel, the human component of IT infrastructure, and mass customization directly affect the organization's business performance.