Affiliations: [a] School of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
| [b] Advanced Innovation Center for Future Education, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding auhtor: Aasma Memon, School of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Technology,
Beijing 100124, China. Tel.: +86 13260353768; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: Information technology capability (ITC) enhances firm performance, reflecting the constructs’ positive relation. Namely ICT enables continual improvements in uncertain environments, despite its extant shortcomings. This article assesses the role that ITC plays in firm performance, mediated by capital availability and sustainable competitive position (SCP). Research hypotheses are tested through structural equation modeling, using the analysis moments of structure (AMOS) statistical software, applied on the data collected from 316 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan, through a structured questionnaire. The results show that ITC might significantly contribute to SCP and firm performance, wherein capital availability and SCP play their mediating roles, strengthening the positive relation between ITC and SCP. These relations’ unconcealment suggests that owners, managers and partners of SMEs and other policymakers must promote ITC’s self-development, in order to effectively enhance financial capital productivity and to achieve superior performance in turbulent markets. The results generalizability is restricted to SMEs in Pakistan, yet it would be challenging to explore this study’s relations in other emerging economies. Most encouraged are researchers willing to test the study’s model in other industries, especially in non-profit organizations in developed and emerging economies, in order to expedite ITC’s potential contribution to firm performance.
Keywords: IT capabilities, financial availability, sustainable competitive position, firm performance
