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Realising platform operational agility through information technology–enabled capabilities: A resource‐interdependence perspective
Author(s) -
Tan Felix Ter Chian,
Pan Shan L.,
Zuo Meiyun
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
information systems journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.635
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-2575
pISSN - 1350-1917
DOI - 10.1111/isj.12221
Subject(s) - interdependence , resource (disambiguation) , process management , dynamic capabilities , knowledge management , competitive advantage , process (computing) , enabling , business , business process , information technology , operational efficiency , computer science , marketing , work in process , computer network , operating system , psychology , political science , law , psychotherapist
Intensifying competition in recent times requires business‐to‐consumer (B2C) e‐commerce platforms to develop operational agility for competitive advantage. Despite the agreement on an increasing competitive landscape, the process for realising information technology (IT)‐driven operational agility on e‐business platforms has received little scrutiny. Through an investigation of M.com, a leading multisided online retailing platform in China, this study provides a clear thesis of resource interdependencies and IT‐enabled capabilities forged during operational processes to realise operational agility. Our investigation, observations, and reflections from practice substantiate a model of how a platform like M.com cultivates IT‐driven resource‐interdependent competencies and capabilities tantamount to realising operational agility. The model shows how IT enables three capabilities—localised, synergistic, and optimised—which reflect the effective co‐ordination of three resource interdependencies (pooled, sequential, and reciprocal) during M.com's complex operations and processes, and explicates the consequences. For research, we postulate that IT‐enabled operational agility in complex organisational forms, cultivated through the development of resource‐interdependent capabilities to deliver effective sensing and response mechanisms, forms effective strategies for the B2C platform in dynamic marketplace conditions.