Paper Type
Complete
Paper Number
PACIS2026-1898
Description
Digital technologies increasingly shape how firms operate, yet we know less about whether novel operational technologies (OpTech) move firms toward strategic conformity or differentiation. A neo-institutional view suggests that novel OpTech may heighten legitimacy concerns and increase conformity. A resource-based view, supported by dynamic capabilities, suggests that novel OpTech may enable experimentation, recombination, and capability-based differentiation, thereby reducing conformity. We address this theoretical tension by examining how Novelty in OpTech, i.e., the uniqueness of a firm’s OpTech portfolio, relates to Strategic Conformity. Using an unbalanced panel of 302 publicly listed U.S. manufacturing firms from 2004 to 2019, we combine IT announcements, financial data, and industry data. Across specifications, we find that Novelty in OpTech is associated with lower Strategic Conformity. We contribute to literature by separating the distinctiveness of OpTech portfolios from the extent of operational digitization and by extending prior work demonstrating technology as an antecedent of business strategy.
Recommended Citation
Chaturvedi, Devina; Kathuria, Abhishek; Andrade, Mariana; and Saldanha, Terence, "The Curious Case of OpTech Novelty: Does OpTech Novelty Drive Strategic Conformity or Differentiation?" (2026). PACIS 2026 Proceedings. 11.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2026/di_entren/di_entren/11
The Curious Case of OpTech Novelty: Does OpTech Novelty Drive Strategic Conformity or Differentiation?
Digital technologies increasingly shape how firms operate, yet we know less about whether novel operational technologies (OpTech) move firms toward strategic conformity or differentiation. A neo-institutional view suggests that novel OpTech may heighten legitimacy concerns and increase conformity. A resource-based view, supported by dynamic capabilities, suggests that novel OpTech may enable experimentation, recombination, and capability-based differentiation, thereby reducing conformity. We address this theoretical tension by examining how Novelty in OpTech, i.e., the uniqueness of a firm’s OpTech portfolio, relates to Strategic Conformity. Using an unbalanced panel of 302 publicly listed U.S. manufacturing firms from 2004 to 2019, we combine IT announcements, financial data, and industry data. Across specifications, we find that Novelty in OpTech is associated with lower Strategic Conformity. We contribute to literature by separating the distinctiveness of OpTech portfolios from the extent of operational digitization and by extending prior work demonstrating technology as an antecedent of business strategy.
Comments
09-Transformation