Project performance and the enabling role of information technology: An exploratory study on the role of alignment

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bardhan, Indranil R.; Krishnan, Vish V.; Lin, Shu
• 署名单位: University of Texas System; University of Texas Dallas; University of California System; University of California San Diego; California State University System; California State University Fresno
• 刊物名称: M&SOM-MANUFACTURING & SERVICE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1523-4614
• DOI: 10.1287/msom.1070.0163
• 发表日期: 2007
• 页码: 579-595
• 关键词: project management; information technology alignment; structure; uncertainty; volatility

摘要

As firms focus on new product, process, and service innovations, improving the performance and productivity of projects that help deliver these innovations assumes greater importance. Information technology (IT) has been an enabler of manufacturing productivity improvement, but its effect on improving the productivity of innovation-intensive operational activities has been mixed. In this paper, we explore the pathways through which IT impacts project-level performance measured in terms of speed, quality, and cost. Specifically, in this exploratory study we seek to present a theory of how the fit between enabling IT and the core characteristics of the project impacts project performance. We test our research hypotheses empirically, using a relatively large, cross-sectional sample of project data. The central contribution is the development and testing of a research model to improve our understanding of the relationship between enabling IT-project alignment, project competencies, and project performance. In doing so, our study clarifies the role of information technologies in project management, providing insights into how to integrate IT into innovation-intensive operational activities for improving project execution competence and productivity.