Abstract

In the context of inter-organizational relationships, this study links various dimensions of trust, IT-based resources and innovation in two distinct pathways defined by the characteristics of each of those dimensions. We parse out two dimensions of inter-organizational IT-based resources – IT-based Process Institutionalization and IT-based Knowledge Institutionalization – based on the purposes for which those resources are employed by the interacting organizations. Based on prior literature, we identify two dimensions each of trust, namely competence and benevolent trust; and two types of innovation, namely incremental and radical innovation. We then develop a model featuring two distinct sets of linkages: one from competence trust to IT-based process institutionalization to incremental innovation, and another from benevolence trust to IT-based knowledge institutionalization to radical innovation. We validate this model using the meta-analytic procedure, which enables us to glean an overall view of findings in prior literature on the relationships between trust, IT and innovation.

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From Trust to Inter-organizational Innovation: The Differential Mediating Roles of IT-based Process and Knowledge Assets

In the context of inter-organizational relationships, this study links various dimensions of trust, IT-based resources and innovation in two distinct pathways defined by the characteristics of each of those dimensions. We parse out two dimensions of inter-organizational IT-based resources – IT-based Process Institutionalization and IT-based Knowledge Institutionalization – based on the purposes for which those resources are employed by the interacting organizations. Based on prior literature, we identify two dimensions each of trust, namely competence and benevolent trust; and two types of innovation, namely incremental and radical innovation. We then develop a model featuring two distinct sets of linkages: one from competence trust to IT-based process institutionalization to incremental innovation, and another from benevolence trust to IT-based knowledge institutionalization to radical innovation. We validate this model using the meta-analytic procedure, which enables us to glean an overall view of findings in prior literature on the relationships between trust, IT and innovation.