An Assessment of Technological Competencies on Professional Service Firms Business Performance
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 33122
An Assessment of Technological Competencies on Professional Service Firms Business Performance

Authors: Sulaiman Ainin, Yusniza Kamar ulzaman, Abdul Ghani Farinda

Abstract:

This study was initiated with a three prong objective. One, to identify the relationship between Technological Competencies factors (Technical Capability, Firm Innovativeness and E-Business Practices and professional service firms- business performance. To investigate the predictors of professional service firms business performance and finally to evaluate the predictors of business performance according to the type of professional service firms, a survey questionnaire was deployed to collect empirical data. The questionnaire was distributed to the owners of the professional small medium size enterprises services in the Accounting, Legal, Engineering and Architecture sectors. Analysis showed that all three Technology Competency factors have moderate effect on business performance. In addition, the regression models indicate that technical capability is the most highly influential that could determine business performance, followed by e-business practices and firm innovativeness. Subsequently, the main predictor of business performance for all types of firms is Technical capability.

Keywords: technology competency, technology capability, innovativeness, E-business practice

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1083887

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1639

References:


[1] J. Lee, "Complementary effects of information technology investment on firm profitability: the functional forms of the complementarities", Information System Management, Vol. 25, No 4, 2008, pp 364-371.
[2] H. Salmela, and P.Turunen, "Competitive implications of information technology in the public sector: the case of the city geographic information system", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2003, pp 8-26.
[3] Y. Huo, "Information technology and the performance of the restaurant firms", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, Vol. 22, No. 3, 1998, pp. 239-251.
[4] V. Kula, and E. Tatoglu, "An exploratory study of internet adoption by SMEs in an emerging market economy", European Business Review, Vol. 15, No. 5), 2003, pp 324 - 333.
[5] M. Zhang, S. Sarker, and J. McCullough, "Measuring information technology capability of export-focused small or medium sized enterprises in china: scale development and validation", Journal of Global Information Management. Vol. 16, No. 3, 2008, pp. 1-25.
[6] D. Lester, and T. Tran, ÔÇÿInformation capabilities: suggestion for SME growth-, Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management. Vol. 10, No. 1, 2008, pp 72-89.
[7] M. Zhang, and P. Tansuhaj, "Organizational culture, information technology capability, and performance: the case of born global firms", Multinational Business Review. Vol. 15, No. 3, 2007, pp. 43-78.
[8] R. Rousseva, "Identifying technological capabilities with different degree of coherence: the challenge to achieve high technological sophistication in latecomer software companies (based on the Bulgarian case)", Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Vol. 75, 2008, pp 1007-1031.
[9] J. Dedrick, V. Gurbaxani, and K L. Kraemer, "Information technology and economic performance: a critical review of the empirical evidence," ACM Computing Surveys, 2003. Vol. 35, No. 1, 2003, pp 1-28.
[10] E.A. Morse, S.W. Fowler, and T.B. Lawrence, "The impact of virtual embeddedness on new venture survival: overcoming the liabilities of newness". Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Vol. 31, No 2, 2007, pp 139-159.
[11] S. Bharadwaj, "A resource-based perspective on information technology capability and firm performance, an empirical investigation". MIS Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 1, 2000, pp 169-196.
[12] H. Jiao, I.C. Chang, and Y. Lu, "The relationship on information technology capability and performance: An empirical research in the context of China-s Yangtze River Delta Region" in 2008 Proceeding IEEE IEEM Conference, pp 872-876.
[13] S. Lall, Learning from Asian Tigers, Macmillan Press, London, 1996.
[14] D. F. Feeny, and L.P. Willcocks, "Core IS capabilities for exploiting information technology", Sloan Management Review, Vol. 39, No. 3, 1998, pp 9-21.
[15] S.M. Huang, C.S. Ou, C.M Chen, B. Lin, "An empirical study of relationship between IT investment and firm performance: A resourcebased perspective", European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 173, 2006, pp 984-999.
[16] S. Mei, and M. Nie (2007), "Technological capability, marketing capability and network capability: Keys to enhancing competitiveness and improving performance-, in 2007 International Conference on Management Science and Engineering (14th), Harbin, PR China, pp 728- 733.
[17] F.E. García-Muiña, and J.E Navas-López, "Explaining and measuring success in new business: the effect of technological capabilities on firm results, Technovation, Vol. 27, No. 1-2 , 2007, pp 30-46.
[18] R.S. Eckaus, The Creation of Technology Capability in Developing Countries, London, Frances Pinter, 1991.
[19] National Research Council Canada, Increasing innovation capabilities of Canada-s SMEs, Annual Report 2001-2002, 2002.
[20] C. Lin, and M. Chen, "Does innovation lead to performance? An empirical study of SMEs in Taiwan", Management Research News, Vol. 30, No. 3, 2007, pp 115 - 132
[21] G.H Gaynor, Innovation by design: What It Takes to Keep Your Company on the Cutting Edge, 2002. http://books.google.com.my/books?+Innovation+by+design (as at 8 July, 2008)
[22] C. Gray, "Absorptive capacity, knowledge management and innovation in entrepreneurial small firms", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2006, pp 345 - 360.
[23] P. Humphreys, R. McAdam, and J. Leckey, "Longitudinal evaluation of innovation implementation in SMEs", European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2005, pp 283 - 304.
[24] R.P. Watson, F.P. Leyland, P. Berthon, and G. Zinkham, "U-Commerce: Expanding the universe of marketing", Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 30, No 4, 2002, pp 333-47.
[25] T. Volery, and D. Lord, "Critical success factors in online education", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 14, No. 5, 2000, pp 216-223.
[26] C.Y. Woo, A. Cooper, W. Dunkelberg, U. Dallenbach, and W.J. Dennis, "Determinants of growth for small and large entrepreneurial start-ups. In R.H. Brockhaus, N.C. Churchill, J.A. Katz, B.A. Kirchoff, K.H. Vesper & W.E. Werzel (Eds.), Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, 1989, pp 134-147, Boston: Babson College.
[27] R.L. Cochran, and R. Wood, "A corporate social responsibility and financial performance", Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 27, No. 1, 1984, pp 42-56.
[28] N. Ibrahim, and L. Rue, "The relationship between planning sophistication and performance in small business-, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 36, No. 4, 1998, pp 24-32.
[29] F. Delmar, P. Davidsson, and W.B Gartner, "Arriving at the high-growth firm", Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 18, No. 2, 2003, pp189-216.
[30] P. Love, and Z. Irani, "An exploratory study of information technology evaluation and benefits management practices of SMEs in the construction industry", Information and Management, Vol. 42, No. 1, 2004, pp 227 - 242.
[31] M. Jonker, H. Romijn, and A. Szirmai, "Technological effort, technological capabilities and economic performance. A case study of the paper manufacturing sector in West Java", Technovation, 26, 2006, pp 121-134
[32] C. Nakata, Z. Zhu and M. Kraimer, "The complex contribution of information technology capability to business performance", Journal of Managerial Issues, Vol. 20, No. 4, 2008, pp. 485-509.
[33] L. Kanuk, and C. Berenson, "Mail surveys and response rates: a literature review-, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 12, 1975, pp 440-453.
[34] U. Sekaran, Research Methods for Business, 2nd ed., Wiley, New York, 1992.
[35] J.C. Nunnally, Psychometric Theory, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1978.
[36] C. Fornell, and D. Larcker, "Structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error-. Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 18, No. 1, 1981, pp 39-50.