IT-enabled operational agility: An interdependencies perspective

Firms make large investments in enterprise information technology (IT) expecting positive impacts on their supply chain operations. Toward IT-enabled operational agility, an enterprise system facilitates the responsibilities of multiple stakeholders; however, its success is not determined merely by its adoption. Firms must contend with information asymmetries and resource interdependencies simultaneously. To this end, this study presents a model that illustrates how IT can be used to accomplish operational agility at a firm. The stagewise model suggests that toward IT-enabled operational agility, new capabilities are enacted to manage resource interdependencies, the process of negotiation and managerial practices that shape IT use in supply chain tasks. Through our findings, our study extends existing prescriptions on firm interdependencies and presents a set of actionable guidelines to help managers better engage with technology toward the attainment of IT-enabled operational agility.