Do purchasing skills matter to a successful adoption of information technology?

Abstract

The skillful management of business operations contributes to better business performance. Previous research on supply chain management verified a relationship between purchasing skills and business performance. However, in the case of Information Technology (IT) goods/services specifically, the relationship has not yet been investigated. In this study, we aim to determine whether there is any difference in IT purchasing skills between a successful group and an unsuccessful group undertaking IT adoption. To this end, we conducted an empirical study targeting IT professionals employed by IT vendor firms. They were asked to recollect two real IT adoption cases, one successful and one unsuccessful, and then in each case, to assess skills of the IT purchasing personnel who were their counterparts in the process of IT delivering. The results of our study show that the level of skills in IT purchasing is a contributing factor to a successful IT adoption. © 2019, International Forum of Management Scholars. All rights reserved.