Sukanya Panda and Santanu Kumar Rath
The purpose of this paper is to highlight a precise investigation of the relationship between information technology (IT) capability and organizational agility along with the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight a precise investigation of the relationship between information technology (IT) capability and organizational agility along with the moderating impact of environmental factors on this association.
Design/methodology/approach
Pre-tested structured questionnaires were administered during a matched-pair field survey to collect primary responses from 300 business and IT personnel working in various public and privately owned banking groups functioning in India. The structural equation modeling approach has been used for data analysis.
Findings
The two-folded research findings are first, IT capability enables organizational agility (studied as business process and market responsive agility), while IT capability has more effect on market responsive agility. Second, the environmental factors (studied as environmental diversity and hostility) possess a significant effect on the IT-agility relationship and, thereby, suggest that a more diverse and less hostile environment is required for the firms to build up superior IT capability for realizing enhanced agility.
Originality/value
The authors have studied IT capability as a first-order factor, organizational agility and environmental factors as second-order factors and by meticulously examining their critical dimensions this study greatly contributes to the existing IT-agility literature. The derived inferences provide various implications for the bank and IT managers to emphasize on superior IT capability for generating enhanced organizational agility.
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Sukanya Panda and Santanu Kumar Rath
This study aims to test a model in which the effect of strategic information technology (IT)-business alignment on organizational agility is examined by the moderating influence…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to test a model in which the effect of strategic information technology (IT)-business alignment on organizational agility is examined by the moderating influence of environmental uncertainty.
Design/methodology/approach
This research utilizes a matched-pair survey data collected from 300 IT and business executives working in various privately owned Indian financial enterprises, and structural equation modeling is used to examine the alignment–agility linkage.
Findings
The analysis demonstrates the positive effect of alignment on agility (studied as business process and market responsive agilities), and alignment is more effective on business process agility than market responsive agility. However, the moderation analysis reveals that in a highly uncertain environment, alignment has more effect on market responsive agility but not on business process agility.
Originality/value
Although previous studies (mostly conducted in the context of developed countries) have reported about the positive IT-business alignment and organizational agility linkage, the literature is silent regarding the influence of external contingent factors on this relationship from a developing country perspective. The authors have conceptualized alignment on the basis of strategic alignment maturity model and meticulously examined its relationship with both categories of agility. This research extends the alignment-agility theory and provides empirical support for this unique association from a developing country (i.e. India) perspective, and thereby, greatly contributes to the alignment literature.
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Sukanya Panda and Santanu Kumar Rath
The purpose of this study underpins investigation of the impact of human IT capabilities (comprising business functions, interpersonal management and technology management…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study underpins investigation of the impact of human IT capabilities (comprising business functions, interpersonal management and technology management expertise) on organizational agility (in terms of sensing and responding agilities). The moderating influence of IT infrastructure spending on this human IT–agility linkage is also thoroughly investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data collected from 300 IT personnel working in various publicly owned banking groups functioning across India are used for this study and structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to assess the human IT–agility link.
Findings
The two-fold research findings highlight the following: first, human IT capabilities enable both the sensing and responding components of agility and second, firms need to focus on translating huge and impudent IT investments into building superior capabilities to effectively shape agility.
Originality/value
This study greatly contributes to the information system (IS) literature by examining human IT capability and agility in terms of second-order constructs and provides a more holistic and comprehensive understanding of this unique relationship. The study precisely investigates the manner in which distinct human IT capability dimensions interact with both types of agilities along with the moderating effect of IT spending on this linkage.
Details
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Sukanya Panda and Santanu Kumar Rath
Information technology (IT) is normally regarded as an enabling factor for making firms agile. Usually, it has been realized that greater IT spending enhances a firm’s agility…
Abstract
Purpose
Information technology (IT) is normally regarded as an enabling factor for making firms agile. Usually, it has been realized that greater IT spending enhances a firm’s agility. However, the role of IT as an obstructing factor towards organizational agility cannot be overlooked. Taking this commonly perceived but less-studied IT-agility contradiction into account, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether IT can augment or impede organizational agility. This research which is conducted in context to privately owned Indian financial enterprises proposes the premise that effective IT resource management is imperative for organizations to thrive for greater firm-wide IT capability for enhanced agility.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data collected from 300 business and IT executives working in various privately owned financial enterprises across India are used for this study and a structural equation modelling is employed to assess the IT-agility link.
Findings
The findings of the study are two-folded. First, this study concludes that IT capability acts as an enabler for business process and market responsive organizational agility. Second, if IT spending is not properly translated into creating superior capability, huge and impudent IT investments will impede the overall organizational agility.
Originality/value
This paper investigates both exogenous variable (IT capability) and endogenous variable (organizational agility) in terms of second-order reflective measures and establishes a significant structural link between both the dimensions of IT capability (managerial and technical) and organizational agility (business process and market responsive). This analysis illustrates the moderating effect of IT spending on each of these relationships, thereby greatly contributes and extends the existing IT capability-agility related information systems literature.