The Extroverted Firm: How External Information Practices Affect Innovation and Productivity

Abstract

We gather detailed data on organizational practices and IT use at 253 firms to examine the hypothesis that external focus -the ability of a firm to detect and therefore respond to changes in its external operating environment -increases returns to information technology, especially when combined with decentralized decision-making. First, using survey-based measures, we find that external focus is correlated with both organizational decentralization and IT investment. Second, we find that a cluster of practices including external focus, decentralization and IT is associated with improved product innovation capabilities. Third, we develop and test a 3-way complementarities model that indicates that the combination of external focus, decentralization and IT is associated with significantly higher productivity in our sample. We also introduce a new set of instrumental variables representing barriers to IT-related organizational change and find that our results are robust when we account for the potential endogeneity of organizational investments. Our results may help explain why firms that operate in information-rich environments such as high-technology clusters or areas with high worker mobility have experienced especially high returns to IT investment and suggest a set of practices that some managers may be able to use to increase their returns from IT investments.

Performance Perspectives for Small and Medium Enterprises in Cameroon: Innovation and ICTs

“…Some studies (Taiwan, Huang & Liu, 2005;Dibrell et al, 2008) show an absence of a direct relationship between innovation and performance and highlight an indirect relationship via the importance given to ICT by the managers. On the other hand, other authors (d 'Aral & Weill, 2007;Kuusisto & Riepula, 2011;Tambe et al, 2012;Kmieciak et al, powerful company to result in a company innovating, efficient, reactivates and which evolves/moves surely and durably. To improve or control this performance, it is possible to act on 4 principal axes: to be to "horse" enters external space and intern to optimize the productivity, to install indicators of rigorous and specific performance, a collaborative management and to develop a creative know-how of performance.…”

“…Also, it is admitted that they could contribute more to the economic growth of Cameroon if they managed to find better combinations of information and communication technologies (ICT) and innovation in order to increase their produ ctivity and ensure a better performance. In a more general manner, the use of ICT as lever of the benefits of the innovativeness of the companies originates from their capacity to accelerate the process of innovation (Pavlou and Sawy, 2006) or their capacity to better identify the emergent needs of the market (Tambe et al, 2012). Many studies are of the opinion that the problems involved in the use of ICT tools in business practices and the separate or joint adoption of the various types of innovation are the first obstacles to the development of SMEs, rather in front of the problems of corruption, deficiency of the infrastructures or excess taxation (Huang and Liu, 2005;Dibrell et al, 2008).…”

L'innovation en PME et son accompagnement par les TIC : quels effets sur la performance ?

“…De la même manière, Merminod et al (2009) montrent comment les systèmes les plus récents comme le PLM (Product Life Management) participent à accroître conjointement la productivité et la fiabilité du développement de nouveaux produits. Tambe et al (2012) analysent comment les pratiques de collecte externe d'information soutenues par les TIC sont source d'innovation (de produit) et de productivité. Parallèlement, Kmieciak et al (2012) avancent l'idée que certaines catégories de TIC permettent une meilleure compréhension du marché en facilitant les échanges avec les clients, qui participent ainsi (via les e-mails, les forums de discussion, les réseaux sociaux) à concevoir des produits répondant à leurs attentes.…”

“…Notre investigation confirme et élargit donc les résultats des travaux portant sur l'utilisation de certaines technologies spécifiques comme soutien aux activités d'innovation (Pavlou et El Sawy, 2006 ;Banker et al, 2006 ;Tambe et al, 2012). Sans restreindre notre étude à des technologies déterminées ou des types d'innovations spécifiés, nous mettons en évidence un effet positif de l'innovativité des PME sur leur performance, dès lors qu'elles mobilisent des TIC pour accompagner leurs innovations, que ce soit en produits ou en procédés.…”

“…Appréhender les TIC comme levier des bénéfices retirés de l'innovativité des entreprises constitue la préoccupation centrale de notre recherche. Concrètement, ce rôle des TIC comme levier provient de leur capacité à accélérer le processus d'innovation ou à favoriser la capitalisation des savoirs R&D de l'entreprise (Pavlou et El Sawy, 2006) ou bien encore de leur capacité à mieux identifier les besoins émergents du marché (Tambe et al, 2012). Plusieurs travaux ont cherché à expliquer comment la propension des entreprises à associer leur capacité d'innovation à leur usage des technologies de l'information pouvait affecter leur performance (Huang et Liu, 2005 ;Dibrell et al, 2008 ;Kmieciak et al 2012 ;Raymond et al, 2013).…”