Purpose As purveyors of knowledge-based and high value-added services to the manufacturing sector, industrial service SMEs must develop the information technology (IT) capabilities that, in combination with other non-IT capabilities, enable their capacity for organizational learning (OL), and for explorative learning in particular. In this context, we aim to identify the different causal configurations that account for the nonlinear complex interplay of IT capabilities for exploration and strategic capabilities for explorative learning as they affect competitive these firms’ competitive performance. Design/methodology/approach Survey data obtained from 92 industrial service SMEs were analysed with a configurational approach, using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Findings As it allows for equifinality, the fsQCA analysis identified six causal configurations that characterize the sampled firms’ explorative learning capability, two being equally associated with high innovation performance, and four being equally associated with high productivity. Originality/value By viewing explorative learning as a dynamic capability that is enabled by the firm’s IT and strategic capabilities, our study contributes to OL theory by providing a more concrete or ‘operational’ grounding which allows for a greater practical applicability of this theory. By taking both the configurational and capability-based views of the OL-IT-performance causal framework, we provide an empirical basis for unraveling, explaining and understanding the complex non-linear relationships embedded within this framework. Keywords: Explorative learning, IT capabilities, Strategic capabilities, Capability configuration, Competitive performance, fsQCA, Industrial service, SME Paper type Research paper

中文翻译：

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信息技术在工业服务型中小企业中的探索性学习和竞争绩效：配置分析

目的作为向制造业提供基于知识和高附加值服务的提供者，工业服务中小型企业必须开发信息技术（IT）功能，与其他非IT功能相结合，以使其具备组织学习（OL）的能力。 ，尤其是用于探索性学习。在这种情况下，我们旨在确定不同的因果配置，这些因果配置会影响IT企业的探索能力和战略性探索性学习能力，因为它们会影响这些公司的竞争绩效，从而造成非线性复杂的相互作用。设计/方法/方法使用模糊集定性比较分析（fsQCA），采用配置方法分析了从92家工业服务中小型企业获得的调查数据。研究结果由于它具有均等性，fsQCA分析确定了六个因果配置，这些因果配置是样本公司探索性学习能力的特征，其中两个与高创新绩效同等相关，而四个与高生产力同等相关。独创性/价值通过将探索性学习视为由公司的IT和战略能力所支持的动态能力，我们的研究通过提供更具体的或“可操作的”基础来为OL理论做出贡献，从而使该理论具有更大的实际适用性。通过采用OL-IT性能因果框架的基于配置和基于功能的视图，我们为解开，解释和理解嵌入在该框架中的复杂非线性关系提供了经验基础。关键字：探索性学习，IT能力，