Dealing with barriers of IOS integration with boundary-spanning activities and mechanisms

• Main Authors: Kun-Yueh Chou, 周坤約
• Other Authors: Tswen-Gwo Wang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/88x46x

博士 === 國立中央大學 === 資訊管理學系 === 105 === Information technology (IT) reshapes traditional logistics-based supply chain by increasing information sharing between firms with inter-organizational systems (IOS). IOS not only increases operational efficiency through the reduction of production and coordination costs but also provides information visibility to mitigate the bullwhip effect. Although IOS integration has numerous benefits, there are many barriers remain. Based on the recognition of asymmetric interfirm relationships (i.e., the asymmetry of resources, competences, benefits, risks, and powers) and the boundary-spanning nature of IOS integration, we identify major boundary-spanning barriers that are required to overcome. This study therefore proposes a theoretical framework to illustrate whether the boundary-spanning processes in terms of resource transfer, competence translation, and interest transformation can benefit interfirm IOS integration. That is, there are resources, competences, benefits, risks, and powers unevenly-distributed among supply chain members to restrain the effectiveness of interfirm IOS integration. Therefore, there is a need to make various asymmetric resources crossing firms' boundaries and mitigate the problems of interfirm resource differences for increasing the effectiveness of IOS integration. Meanwhile, transferring resources, translating resources into the dyadic partner's meaningful competences, and transforming self interests into mutual interests are the critical ways to cross organizational boundaries for mitigating asymmetry. Through a combination of competence perspective and governance perspective, dynamic capability and incentive governance are specified to underpin the framework. Accordingly, a model with ten hypotheses were developed and tested with data collected from 162 Taiwanese manufacturing firms. The results show that the boundary-spanning processes can indeed benefit interfirm IOS integration. Our findings suggest that buyer's desorptive capacity of IT skills, supplier's IS flexibility, and interfirm incentive governance are critical for overcoming the boundary-spanning barriers of IOS integration. Both theoretical and practical implications are provided accordingly.