Authors:
François Bergeron
1
;
Anne-Marie Croteau
2
;
Louis Raymond
3
and
Sylvestre Uwizeyemungu
3
Affiliations:
1
Université du Québec, Canada
;
2
Concordia University, Canada
;
3
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Canada
Keyword(s):
IT Performance, Environmental Uncertainty, IT Strategic Orientation, IT Capability, Qualitative Comparative Analysis, QCA, SME.
Abstract:
This study seeks to describe and explain the manner by which the environmental uncertainty, IT strategic orientation and IT capabilities of manufacturing SMEs contribute to their IT performance, that is, to their realization of benefits from the use of IT. A qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) allows to unveil three IT capability configurations associated to high-IT performance firms. Dependent upon the configuration, the core causal conditions involve an IT Defender strategic orientation, and various combinations of IT managerial, functional, informational and technological capabilities. These results support the idea of a gestalt alignment threshold for the IT capabilities of high-IT performance firms, that is, the idea that different IT capability configurations can be equally effective.