Linking routines to the evolution of IT capability on agent-based modeling and simulation: a dynamic perspective

Authored by Bing Bai, Byungjoon Yoo, Xiuquan Deng, Iljoo Kim, Dehua Gao

Date Published: 2016

DOI: 10.1007/s10588-015-9202-0

Sponsors: Chinese National Natural Science Foundation Beijing Natural Science Foundation Philosophy and Social Science Fund of Colleges and Universities in Jiangsu Province

Platforms: Java Swarm

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Flow charts Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

IT capability as an important source of competitive advantage has been strongly emphasized in the strategic management literature, yet the formation and evolution of IT capability in the ever-changing business environment are not well explained. To fill this gap, this paper takes routine as the unit of analysis, depicts a micro-interpretation of the formation and evolution of IT capabilities from the routine-based and dynamic perspective, and uses the agent-based simulation methodology to simulate the evolutionary process of IT capability as well as to identify the underlying principles. In order to provide a better presentation of the evolutionary process, a routine-based view of the enterprise explicitly recognizes relationships of IT resources and capabilities. The simulation results show that the evolution of IT capability is a dynamic adaption and learning process. From the routine-based view, the evolution of IT capability is indeed the process of variation, selection, and retention for IT routines.

Tags

emergence Coevolution architecture competitive advantage Competence Resources Information-technology capability Algorithm-based model Organizational routines Firm performance