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Journal of Small Business Management Volume 57, 2019 - Issue 3
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Original Articles

The Role of Top Management Participation and IT Capability in Developing SMEs’ Competitive Process Capabilities

Rui BiCorrespondence[email protected]
View further author information
,
Robert DavisonView further author information
&
Kosmas SmyrniosView further author information
Pages 1008-1026 | Published online: 11 Nov 2019
 
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Abstract

This research explores how top management participation and three types of IT capability enable SMEs' competitive process alignment and flexibility capabilities. Our research hypotheses are tested using data from 310 Australian SMEs. Results show that top management participation and external IT linkage capability positively affect both process alignment and process flexibility. While IT infrastructure capability and IT business spanning capability positively affect process alignment, they are not significantly related to process flexibility. In addition, both process alignment and process flexibility capabilities have significant positive effects on SME performance. Contributions and implications of this study are discussed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rui Bi

Rui Bi is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Management and Marketing at the Charles Sturt University.

Robert Davison

Robert Davison is a Professor in the Department of Information Systems at the City University of Hong Kong.

Kosmas Smyrnios

Kosmas Smyrnios is a Professor in the School of Management at the RMIT University.

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