A hypercube model of ICT (Information and communications technology) strategy: Towards a theory of competency maturity

Abstract

The projection of e-Business on the Internet amounting to US$154 billion in 2002 (OECD 1999) vanished with the burst of the Internet bubble and gave rise to a a??dotcoma?? paradox where returns just do not commensurate with the investments. It also highlighted the fallibility of firms who had jumped onto the Internet bandwagon, primarily concerned with assigning resources to be on it instead of having any strategy for harnessing the potential offered by the Internet. This thesis offers a hypercube model built from a series of case studies to examine a firma??s IT strategies in relation to the tripartite key dimensions of technology cycle, strategic orientation of decision-makers and variability of virtual organisation structure. Beginning with mapping the IT strategies into Venkatramana??s (1994) business transformation strategies, and then elucidating them along the three key dimensions, the model goes on to derive a portfolio of intra-organisation and inter-organisation activities that can be pursued by the organizations for superior performance. The model also demonstrates the necessity for organizations to enhance their absorptive capacity and competency development if they aspire for sustainable competitive advantage.