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Technology strategy and performance: a study of information technology service providers from selected Asian countries

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Abstract

The provision of information technology (IT) services to support a wide range of information and communication technology (ICT) products has experienced rapid growth in recent years, particularly in less developed countries in Asia. This paper develops a conceptual model to test the impacts of the technology strategy of IT service providers on two measures of performance based on the experience of a sample of 98 IT firms from Korea, China, Thailand and the Philippines. It is found that technology strategy related to the adoption and diffusion of technology contributes positively to both performance measures. While the technology capabilities of firms, both internal and external, are important for financial performance, internal technological capabilities are more effective for the firm’s response to market changes. The technology competence of employees reflected by their education levels and the availability of in-house training are also found to be crucial for financial performance. The overall results suggest that technology strategy contributes significantly towards the performance of IT service providers but the impacts of different strategies on the financial and strategic performance of firms vary markedly.

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Notes

  1. β i in Eq. 1 measures the effects of a change in the independent variable on the ln [P i/ (1−P i)]. The amount of the increase in probability depends on the original probability and the initial values of all the independent variables and their coefficients. For a more detailed interpretation of logistic regression results, see Gujarati, 1988.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the Asian Development Bank for providing the data used in this paper and Revti Raman for his insightful comments. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Bank.

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  1. Department of International Business, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Doren D. Chadee & Billy Pang

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  1. Doren D. Chadee
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  2. Billy Pang
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Correspondence to Doren D. Chadee.

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Chadee, D.D., Pang, B. Technology strategy and performance: a study of information technology service providers from selected Asian countries. Service Business 2, 109–126 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-007-0027-x

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