ABSTRACT

IT-based information management and collaboration networks are both important sources of competitive information. Despite anecdotal evidence, limited research examines their contemporaneous impact on firms’ ability to compete effectively. We take an information asymmetry perspective to examine the mechanisms through which the firm’s information management capability and the structure of its collaboration network influence the structure of its competition network in product markets. We argue that taking a brokerage position in competition networks has a positive influence on a firm’s performance. We then explain how the firm’s information management capability and its position in collaboration networks each have a direct positive influence on its brokerage position in the competition network. Finally, we propose that information management capability and a central position in collaboration networks act as substitutes. We empirically test our model using a longitudinal competition network, a longitudinal collaboration network, and longitudinal secondary data about firms’ information management capability, drawn from 262 firms over a 15-year period. Our findings, robust to endogeneity concerns and alternative model specifications, reveal the direct and substitution effects of information management capability and collaboration networks on competition networks. This research contributes to the information systems and strategy literatures by offering insights into how IT enables firms to design competitive strategies by facilitating analyses of competitors’ information, and how the information gained by firms as they collaborate can enhance their ability to compete.

摘要

基于 IT 的信息管理和协作网络都是竞争信息的重要来源。尽管有轶事证据，但有限的研究考察了它们同时期对企业有效竞争能力的影响。我们从信息不对称的角度来考察企业的信息管理能力和协作网络的结构影响其产品市场竞争网络结构的机制。我们认为，在竞争网络中担任经纪职位对公司的业绩有积极的影响。然后我们解释了公司的信息管理能力及其在协作网络中的地位如何对其在竞争网络中的经纪地位产生直接的积极影响。最后，我们建议信息管理能力和协作网络中的中心地位作为替代品。我们使用纵向竞争网络、纵向合作网络和纵向二级数据对我们的模型进行实证测试，这些数据来自 262 家公司超过 15 年的时间。我们的发现对内生性问题和替代模型规范具有鲁棒性，揭示了信息管理能力和协作网络对竞争网络的直接和替代影响。这项研究通过提供有关 IT 如何使公司通过促进对竞争对手信息的分析来设计竞争战略的见解，为信息系统和战略文献做出贡献，