Abstract
Inspired by recent calls for a greater infusion of ethics into business organizations, this research-in-progress paper proposes an ethical perspective to the development of organizational capabilities. Drawing upon Pavlou and El Sawy’s (2010) recent work, it recognizes that organizations need both dynamic and improvisational capabilities in order to be successful. This paper proposes that certain ethical characteristics of organizations, notably organizational virtues, influence these dynamic and improvisational capabilities. The paper also recognizes the salience of IT, in terms of organizational IT affordances, in engendering such virtues. Specifically, certain core organizational IT affordances are theorized to influence the development of such organizational virtues. Overall, this paper contributes by articulating the strategic usefulness of organizational ethicality (in terms of virtues) and the important role IT plays in this mix. The theory presented here is the first step in this research and will guide the future empirical study.
Recommended Citation
Chatterjee, Sutirtha; Chakraborty, Suranjan; and Sarker, Suprateek, "The Strategic Relevance of IT-enabled Organizational Virtues" (2011). ICIS 2011 Proceedings. 16.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2011/proceedings/organization/16
The Strategic Relevance of IT-enabled Organizational Virtues
Inspired by recent calls for a greater infusion of ethics into business organizations, this research-in-progress paper proposes an ethical perspective to the development of organizational capabilities. Drawing upon Pavlou and El Sawy’s (2010) recent work, it recognizes that organizations need both dynamic and improvisational capabilities in order to be successful. This paper proposes that certain ethical characteristics of organizations, notably organizational virtues, influence these dynamic and improvisational capabilities. The paper also recognizes the salience of IT, in terms of organizational IT affordances, in engendering such virtues. Specifically, certain core organizational IT affordances are theorized to influence the development of such organizational virtues. Overall, this paper contributes by articulating the strategic usefulness of organizational ethicality (in terms of virtues) and the important role IT plays in this mix. The theory presented here is the first step in this research and will guide the future empirical study.