ABSTRACT

Firms often assemble digital infrastructures using continuously evolving software applications sourced from a multitude of vendors. Using the theoretical lens of the threat-rigidity thesis, we raise the possibility that during adverse environmental conditions, software-vendor diversification can be a source of organizational rigidity that may dampen firm performance. Empirical analysis using data on 918 large public U.S. firms operating during two severe environmental shocks, the global financial crisis and the burst of the dot-com bubble, lends strong support to our thesis. Results indicate that a variety of firm performance indicators (e.g., stock return and operating income measures) are negatively associated with software-vendor diversification during crisis periods. Mediation analysis highlights the role of IT-related material weakness in firms’ internal controls in transmitting threat-rigidity effects that decrease performance. These results underscore the importance of software portfolio optimization for countering the dysfunctional effects of software-vendor diversification during adverse environmental shocks.

摘要

公司通常使用来自众多供应商的不断发展的软件应用程序来组装数字基础设施。利用威胁刚性论文的理论视角，我们提出了一种可能性，即在不利的环境条件下，软件供应商的多元化可能成为组织刚性的根源，从而可能削弱公司绩效。使用 918 家美国大型上市公司在全球金融危机和互联网泡沫破裂这两次严重环境冲击期间运营的数据进行的实证分析为我们的论文提供了强有力的支持。结果表明，各种公司绩效指标（例如，股票回报和营业收入指标）与危机期间软件供应商的多元化呈负相关。中介分析强调了公司内部控制中与 IT 相关的实质性弱点在传递导致绩效下降的威胁刚性效应方面的作用。这些结果强调了软件组合优化对于应对不利环境冲击期间软件供应商多元化的功能失调影响的重要性。