Electronic Mediation, Transformation, and Business Value: Three Essays in the Retail Auto Industry

This dissertation seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) what properties enable some organizations to generate more value from information technology (IT) than others? and (2) through what mechanisms do organizations generate value through IT? It examines the role of technology in value creation through three essays using three different aspects of organizational performance. Chapter 1: Responding to Technology-Enabled Organizational Transformation: The Role of Strategic Change Orientation Essay one examines the role of strategic change orientation and three change enablers--IT capabilities, climate for IT use, and mindfulness of IT adoption--in influencing business process performance during a period of IT-enabled transformation. The data source for this essay is a survey of auto retailers facilitated by a leading online infomediary.Chapter 2: Profiting From the Internet Channel: The Complementarity of Electronic Commerce Capabilities and Business Process Change Essay two accesses the joint role of electronic commerce capabilities and business process change in a model that examines the value firms derive from the Internet channel. The data source for this essay is a survey of auto retailers conducted by a leading market research firm. Chapter 3: Understanding Retailer Use of Online Auction Channels: Strategies In Repeated Search Processes Essay three examines sellers' use of the online auction market and the resulting value obtained for a given product through the theoretical lens of search theory. We model sellers' repeated listing of unsold products and adjustment of reserve price as a process of searching for high valuation customers. The data source for this essay is transactional data from a leading online auction site specializing in automobiles.