Improving competitive positioning through complementary organisational resources

Purpose – In this paper, the authors seek to draw upon resource‐based theory to explore the role of existing, complementary organisational resources, in leveraging sustainable improvements in competitive positioning, resulting from information systems initiatives. Design/methodology/approach – A research model has been derived from the literature, which is then used to guide the conduct of a major, integrated quantitative and qualitative survey of managers. Findings – In this paper, it is shown that improvements in competitive positioning are likely to be more significant and sustainable when a new IS initiative makes an indirect contribution, through the leveraging of complementary organisational resources, rather than stemming directly from the functionality of the IT asset. Research limitations/implications – The main limitations of this study relate to its use of a “convenience” sample and a “single‐informant”. However, both these comprises were viewed as being worthwhile, as it gave the authors the opportunity to conduct a study that was both broad and deep, in terms of the data collected. Practical implications – The authors draw out the implications of their empirical study for the management of IT projects, to improve their ability to deliver sustainable improvements in competitive positioning. Originality/value – This research makes a significant departure from the aggregated, enterprise‐level orientation of prior studies, by focusing upon the process‐level impacts of individual IS initiatives.