The Impact of Institutional Distance on the Joint Performance of Collaborating Firms: The Role of Adaptive Interorganizational Systems
Authors: Dong, Maggie Chuoyan; Fang, Yulin; Straub, Detmar W.
Journal: Information Systems Research (2017)
<jats:p>Firms have made extensive use of interorganizational systems (IOSs) to share knowledge and pursue superior joint performance. Contemporary firms are using IOSs to collaborate widely across the value chain and in an ever-expanding geographic landscape. Thus, institutional distance, which is the difference between the firms’ respective institutional fields, has become a prominent challenge. In this study, we investigate the extent to which institutional distance affects IOS-enabled knowledge sharing and its impact on the joint performance of collaborating firms. We also explore the extent to which IOS adaptability could be a design solution for improving IOS-enabled knowledge sharing, given the challenge of institutional distance. Drawing on institutional theory, we propose that institutional distance, differentially influential via its normative, cognitive, and regulative aspects, not only reduces IOS-enabled knowledge sharing but also weakens the positive impact of such sharing on joint firm performance. Next, extending boundary object theory to the institutional context, we propose that IOS adaptability could be a solution to the challenge of institutional distance becaus…