How U.S. Businesses are Navigating the Post-Pandemic Economy

IT has proven to be a highly effective tool for managing organizational knowledge. With the growing significance of knowledge management in supply chains, it is crucial to focus on the role of IT in developing the capabilities of supply chains' knowledge management. This area deserves further research and exploration. This dissertation builds upon three different streams of literature that are increasingly converging, in order to explore the intricate phenomenon of using IT to manage knowledge in supply chains. Initially, the literature on IT business value lays the groundwork for understanding IT capabilities and how they can contribute to generating business value. Additionally, the literature on IOS and SCM provides valuable insights into the various factors that impact the implementation of IT in supply chains and highlights the significant improvements in supply chain efficiency brought about by IT. 

Furthermore, the knowledge management literature brings together research from various fields such as IS

management, organizational learning, and strategic management. It enhances our comprehension of how IT can enhance knowledge management processes in both organizational and interorganizational settings. Research on IT business value explores how IT affects organizational performance (Melville et al. 2004). Researchers often define performance in terms of efficiency and effectiveness (Melville et al. 2004). The focus on efficiency is centered around internal perspectives, using metrics like cost reduction and productivity improvement to strive for better performance (Barua et al. 1995). Effectiveness, on the other hand, emphasizes the Successful achievement of organizational objectives is closely tied to a firm's ability to navigate and adapt to its external environment. This includes gaining a competitive advantage over other players in the market (Barney 1991). Given the increasing investment in IT by organizations, there is a growing need among researchers and practitioners to comprehend the impact of IT on organizational performance. IT capability can be defined as a company's consistent and repeatable actions when it comes to utilizing IT resources. RBV offers a comprehensive framework for examining the potential link between IT and gaining a competitive edge and improving performance. 

Various streams of IT business value research hold differing perspectives on IT artifacts. 

IT is often viewed and analyzed from different perspectives. Some researchers focus on its role as a financial investment, while others examine its strategic importance in information systems. Additionally, IT is also seen as a key organizational capability. Researchers investigating the connection between IT investments and firm performance have explored different microeconomic theoretical perspectives. These include production theory, consumer theory, and option-pricing models. In this stream of research, IT investments have been found to have varying effects on firm performance, as demonstrated by studies conducted by Barua et al. (1995), Hitt and Brynjolfsson (1996), and Kohli and Devaraj (2003). The inconsistencies in research findings have prompted researchers to reflect on the methodology employed in this line of research. According to some researchers, a more effective way to track the economic advantages of IT is by conducting scientific investigations at the location where IT is utilized. As an illustration, Barua et al. (1995) utilize a process-oriented approach to assess the impacts of IT and discover that IT plays a significant role at the intermediate level (strategic business units). Researchers have extensively utilized RBV to analyze the competitive advantage implications of information technology through both theoretical and empirical studies (Mata et al. 1995; Bharadwaj 2000; Ross et al. 1996; Santhanam and Hartono 2005). As an illustration, when investigating the link between IT capability and firm performance, Bharadwaj (2000) discovered that companies with strong IT capability generally outperform other companies in terms of profit and cost-based performance measures. 

Three Areas of Research

Kohli and Devaraj (2003) conducted a meta-analysis to address the inconsistent findings regarding the connection between IT investment and firm performance. It has been found that various factors can lead to differing opinions on the value of IT. These factors include the size of the sample, the industry being studied, whether the study is cross-sectional or longitudinal, and the selection of dependent variables. The research on the economic value of IT contributes to the broader field of IT value research by identifying the specific business processes that mediate the impact of IT on an organization's economic performance. Three factors that can impact market efficiency are opportunity costs, market inefficiency caused by transaction costs, and the efforts made by firms to minimize these costs. Based on TCE, Malone et al. (1987) suggest that the rise of IOS would lead to a shift from hierarchical relationships to market-based relationships between buyers and suppliers. This is because IT-enabled transactions significantly reduce coordination costs. On the other hand, Clemons et al. (1992) put forward a "move-to-the-middle" thesis using TCE 2004). Wade and Hulland explain that assets and capabilities are the key resources within a firm. Assets are typically static, serving as inputs or outputs of a process. On the other hand, capabilities, such as skills and processes, actively transform the inputs into outputs that provide greater benefits.