Start Date
11-12-2016 12:00 AM
Description
This study proposes a model to examine how boards of directors’ external ties (i.e., political ties and business ties) affect a firm’s IT assimilation through absorptive capacity. Drawing on agency and resource dependence theory, we argue that directors’ political ties are positively related to IT assimilation, whereas their business ties are negatively related to IT assimilation. Furthermore, we suppose that a firm’s absorptive capacity plays a critical role in mediating the relationship between directors’ external ties and IT assimilation. Finally, we expect that the effect of external ties on IT assimilation is stronger when external ties are from inside directors than from independent directors. We pilot-tested our hypothesis with a combination of survey data and objective data collected from 42 firms. The results provide certain support to our model.
Recommended Citation
Wang, Jie; Chen, Meng; and Liu, Hefu, "Effects of Boards of Directors’ External Ties on IT Assimilation" (2016). ICIS 2016 Proceedings. 17.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2016/ITImplementation/Presentations/17
Effects of Boards of Directors’ External Ties on IT Assimilation
This study proposes a model to examine how boards of directors’ external ties (i.e., political ties and business ties) affect a firm’s IT assimilation through absorptive capacity. Drawing on agency and resource dependence theory, we argue that directors’ political ties are positively related to IT assimilation, whereas their business ties are negatively related to IT assimilation. Furthermore, we suppose that a firm’s absorptive capacity plays a critical role in mediating the relationship between directors’ external ties and IT assimilation. Finally, we expect that the effect of external ties on IT assimilation is stronger when external ties are from inside directors than from independent directors. We pilot-tested our hypothesis with a combination of survey data and objective data collected from 42 firms. The results provide certain support to our model.