IT paradox still exists?: short- and long-term event studies using electronic channel as vehicle

Ph.D.The information technology (IT) paradox has been studied for decades by scholars, with efforts to investigate the business value of IT for firms. However, although the literature along this line has broadened our knowledge, the results are inconclusive and three research gaps have been identified. First, due to the mixed findings of prior studies, whether and how IT investment leads to higher market value and firm performance remains in question. Second, prior studies tend to investigate the business value of IT from an aggregate perspective, leaving the value of specific IT unknown. Third, while the importance of considering the time lag effect, which refers to after IT investment it may take some time for it to generate business value, has been emphasized, to the best of our knowledge, whether there is a time lag, if so what is it property, has not been fully explored. Therefore, this thesis undertakes two studies to address the abovementioned research gaps, applying several widely used theories. In addition, electronic channels (e-channels) are considered as a specific form of IT, and short- and long-term event study methodologies are adopted to test the proposed model and hypotheses.In the first study, we build a research model adopting the resource-based view and contingency theory, and use the short-term event study methodology from the accounting field to investigate the market value of IT investment, specifically stock market reactions to e-channel investment announcements. This study examines the cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) of firms related to 178 e-channel announcements. In addition, we investigate the contingent effects of investment innovation, the e-channel market, the type of goods, and the type of development. The results show that investment innovation has a significant impact on CARs, where an initial e-channel investment brings positive CARs, but an e-channel relaunch does not. The results also show that the market assigns greater value to B2B rather than B2C e-channel investment, to e-channel involving intangible goods rather than that involving tangible goods, and to outsourced rather than in-house development.In the second study, we adopt the long-term event study methodology and combine with secondary financial report data for firms to investigate the relationship between IT (e-channel) investments and firm performance. Based on the resource-based view, capability-building perspective, and dynamic capability theory, we propose a comprehensive conceptual model to explain how IT investment leads to firm performance by taking the time lag issue into consideration. The proposed model is tested using 136 firm e-channel investments and their public financial data. The results of our matched-sample comparison group method show that e-channel investment leads to firm performance through improved e-channel-enabled capabilities. Complementary organizational resources are crucial for transforming e-channel investments into e-channel-enabled capabilities, while dynamic capabilities are important to convert e-channel-enabled capabilities into firm performance. In addition, a time lag does indeed exist, which for e-channel investment is specifically four quarters. This time lag can be divided into two periods: the first period is the first quarter after the e-channel investment, which used to do capability building learning, and the second period is the next three quarters, which are used to accomplish strategic learning.信息系統領域的學者已經花費了幾個世紀來研究信息技術悖論問題，同時也花費了大量精力研究信息技術的商業價值。雖然已有的相關文獻擴展了我們的知識，但前人所得出的結論卻不一致，並且存在著三個顯著的研究缺口。首先，由於之前研究結論的不一致，信息技術投資是否可以以及如何提升企業的市場價值及企業績效仍然不確定。第二，之前的文獻大多研究企業的總體信息技術投資影響，卻忽略了研究個體信息技術投資的價值。第三，儘管有些學者強調了信息技術投入與其產出的時間延遲效應，即信息技術的投入需要一些時間才能為企業產生價值，但這個效應是否有影響及如何影響信息技術的價值還不曾有實證研究探索過。因此，在這篇畢業論文中，我基於之前的研究理論並通過兩個不同的研究來解決以上提到的研究缺口。此外我們將以電子渠道為一個具體的信息技術來驗證所提出的模型，採用短期及長期事件研究方法來驗證相關的理論假設。在研究一中，我基於資源基礎理論及情境理論構建了研究模型，并採用短期事件研究的方法來探索信息技術投資公告的市場價值，即股票市場對於電子渠道投資公告的反應。此研究基於178 個電子渠道投資公告來估計股價的累積異常回報。同時，也探究了投資創新度，電子渠道市場，商品特性及電子渠道建設方法等變量對於異常回報的影響。結果顯示，投資創新度對於異常回報有顯著影響：市場對於初次投資有正向反饋，而對再次投資卻沒有；市場對於商業與商業的電子渠道投資的反饋明顯好於對企業與個體的電子渠道投資；對於售賣虛擬商品的電子渠道反饋明顯優於對售賣實體商品的電子渠道投資。在研究二中，本研究採用長期事件研究方法與企業的財務報表數據來研究企業信息技術投資與企業績效的關係。基於資源基礎理論，能力構建理論與動態能力理論，本文提出了一個更加全面的概念模型，考慮到投入產出時間延遲效應，來解釋信息技術悖論問題。基於136 個公司的二手數據，群組配對比較的結果表明，信息技術投資確實能提高企業績效，通過形成的信息技術支持能力。一方面企業補充資源對於信息技術形成信息技術支持能力起到了關鍵性的作用，另一方面動態能力對於信息技術支持能力提升企業績效發揮著決定性的作用。此外，時間延遲效應確實存在。對於電子渠道來說，企業需要四個季度來從投資中提高企業績效。延遲效應主要用來完成兩個任務：第一個時間段，大約電子渠道投資后的一個季度，用來完成信息技術能力構建學習；第二個時間段，完成能力構建后的三個季度，用來完成企業策略學習。Lei, Yang.Thesis Ph.D. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2019.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-138).Abstracts also in Chinese.Title from PDF title page (viewed on 25, November, 2020)