An examination of firms' temporal, information technology, and structural responses to their task environment: A multiple industry analysis.

摘要

The purpose of this research was to gain a greater understanding of how managers' respond to their task environment through temporal coordination, information technology investment and the extent of their bureaucracy, and how these relationships translate into firms' performance. Specifically, the study examined how managers strategically used temporal coordination (i.e., time pacing, temporal planning, cycle time), information technology (IT) investment (i.e., IT asset investment, IT training investment, and IT time pacing) and the extent of bureaucracy (i.e., centralization and formalization) in response to their perceptions of their organizations' task environment and the extent to which information technology is a substitute for traditional structural arrangements. In doing so, I generated time pacing, cycle time, and IT time pacing scales that demonstrated a high degree of construct validity and scale reliability in capturing the effects of time and IT upon an organization. Data for the study were gathered using both mail and web-based questionnaires from respondent managers in three different industries: microcomputer, pharmaceutical, and pulp and paper. Path analysis was employed to analyze the hypothesized relationships and constructs.