Resource orchestration for innovation: the dual role of information technology

ABSTRACT

The question of how information technology-both as an operand resource and as an operant resource-impacts on innovation processes and innovation outcomes remains largely uninvestigated in the manufacturing enterprises. Building on an in-depth case study of a manufacturing enterprise in China, we present a resource orchestration for innovation model and examine the dual role of IT in three distinct innovation processes. The model highlights the multilevel nature of the computerisation process, showing that it entails different IT role and be associated with a particular innovation outcome at each process. This study synthesises resource orchestration framework and IT concepts to elaborate the synergistic relationships between various resources at all levels both inside and between enterprises. Our study not only contributes to broadening the theoretical perspectives by exploring the dual role of IT in managerial issues but also provides some practical suggestions for business leaders to facilitate innovation processes.

KEYWORDS:

• Resource orchestration
• innovation
• IT
• operand resource
• operant resource
• case study

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Mingwei Li is PhD candidate in Management Information System at the School Economics and Management, Beihang University in Beijing, China. His research interests lie at the strategic use of ICT, and digital innovation.

Suling Jia is a Professor in Management Information System at the School Economics and Management, Beihang University in Beijing, China. Her research interests lie at the strategic use of ICT, innovation management, and digital innovation. She has published her work broadly on the topics ranging from system dynamics, IT project management, computer engineering to system simulation in many Chinese journals.

ORCID

Mingwei Li http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0805-6477