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is a professor of management information systems in the School of Management at Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. Qin Shu (shuqin@263.net) is a graduate student in the School of Management at Xi'an Jiaotong University,

As more and more companies are deploying, or plan to deploy, information systems, the organizational capabilities to effectively deploy information technologies to support and shape businesses become increasingly important. While many studies have focused on how to acquire state-of-the-art information technologies and on how to effectively utilize implemented information technologies, more studies are still needed to investigate how a company can successfully deploy acquired information technologies to support and shape businesses strategies and value chain activities. IT deployment capabilities are defined as the organizational capabilities to configure and reconfigure a company's information system by adding new IT components or by adapting the existing information systems in order to make the whole information system available to support and shape businesses. This study identifies and investigates the three building blocks of IT deployment capabilities: strategic IT flexibility, business-IT partnership, and business-IT alignment. Using the resourcebased view, we propose a framework to explain the relationship between IT deployment capabilities and competitive advantage. The research model is tested on data collected in China. Results show that strategic IT flexibility and business-IT partnership have direct impacts on competitive advantage, while business-IT alignment has an indirect impact on competitive advantage. The effect of business-IT alignment on competitive advantage is fully mediated by strategic IT flexibility and business-IT partnership. The results provide support for the relationship between IT deployment capabilities and competitive advantage. The study presents implications for how to develop IT deployment capabilities and how to generate business value from IT investment.

The drawbacks of information privacy in online marketing result in scholars' research concern for privacy. Following the current research trends and further extending the limitations from one specific context, this study examines the effects of information sensitivity and compensation on privacy concern and behavioral intention, where behavioral intention has three dimensions including information disclosure, protection intention and transaction intention. In order to simulate the phenomenon in the online environment, a 2x3 experimental design (low or high level of information sensitivity; 5%, 30%, 60% sale discount) and a 2x2 experimental design (low or high level of information sensitivity; low or high level of job-hunting compensation) were implemented and assessed. The results show that privacy concern has a negative effect on information disclosure, but a positive effect on protection intention. The interactions of information sensitivity and compensation have significant effects on information disclosure and transaction intention. Additionally, information sensitivity has a negative effect on information disclosure and transaction intention. In the online purchasing environment, a 30% sales discount performs better than either a 5% or a 60% discount. However, across contexts, services provided in the job hunting environment are more prized by customers than the 30% sale discount. These outcomes imply that marketers should beware of designing at the cost-benefit level to eliminate information privacy concern that reduces behavioral intention.

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