Why IT matters in midsized firms
By: Marco Iansiti, George Favaloro, James Utzschneider, Greg Richards
Series: Working paper / Division of Research, Harvard Business School -- 06-013; Working paper (Harvard Business School. Division of Research) -- 06-013
Publisher: Division of Research, Harvard Business School
Published: 2005
Place of publication: Boston
Language: eng
Number of pages: 20
Description: There is considerable confusion among academics and practitioners over how (or if) information technology (IT) impacts corporate performance. Can a typical company benefit from a focus on information technology to differentiate itself from competitors and achieve important business objectives? Our research has found this is indeed the case, but that the answer is not found in a simple measure of the dollars invested in IT. In our study we wanted to focus on what IT actually does for a business. To accomplish this, we developed an approach that measures the business capabilities IT can enable. Our results show a high correlation between IT capability and profitable business growth. Firms that build high capability IT systems grow faster than firms that do not, and do so while increasing both revenue and profits.
Notes: "September 1, 2005"--Added t.p.

Includes bibliographical references.