The impacts of IT capability on internet-enabled supply and demand process integration, and firm performance in manufacturing and services

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to derive a model to examine how Information Technology (IT) capability affects internet-enabled supply and demand process integration, which will eventually improve firm performance. In addition, the moderating effects of industry type in the research framework are explored. Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained from a survey administered to 261 firms in the manufacturing and services industry in China. The structural equation modeling approach is used to test the hypotheses. The study further applied the t -test to compare the path coefficiencies between manufacturing and service. Findings – Results from the survey indicate that internet-enabled supply and demand process integration is affected by IT capability, and can directly impact firm performance. The results further indicate that manufacturing and services firms may benefit from IT capability in different ways. Originality/value – The current paper contributes knowledge on the value-realizing mechanism of internet-enabled supply chain integration (SCI) from a resource-based view. It presents a multidimensional explanation of the relationships among IT capability, internet-enabled SCI, and firm performance.