Organizational learning in high-technology purchase situations: The antecedents and consequences of the participation of external IT consultants
Name:
Publisher version
View Source
Access full-text PDFOpen Access
View Source
Check access options
Check access options
Abstract
Typically, research on organizational learning has been conceptual in nature. In a departure from this tradition, we develop and test a structural model of organizational learning in the context of the purchasing of an expensive and complex product in the information technology (IT) area. The key focus of our research is the participation of external IT consultants and our model links seven explanatory constructs that are consistent with the process school of thought in organizational learning. More specifically, two organizational variables–formalization, strategic importance–and two individual-level variables–stakeholding, prior experience–are viewed as antecedents of consultant participation. In contrast, we view internal search effort, external search effort, and organizational learning as consequences of consultant participation. As predicted, all four antecedent variables affected consultant participation. Moreover, we found that, while consultant participation had a positive impact on internal search effort and organizational learning, its impact on external information search effort was negative.Citation
Industrial Marketing Management, 36(3): 285-299Publisher
ElsevierType
Journal articleLanguage
enDescription
Metadata onlyISSN
0019-8501ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.indmarman.2005.06.009