Information systems researchers have drawn on the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities theory to offer a sharper theoretical lens to study the impact of information technology (IT) enabled capabilities on organizational performance. In this study, we propose a new conceptualization of IT-enabled production capability, based on the ability of a manufacturing plant to use its mix of resource inputs to maximize its process outputs. Our approach extends the literature on firm capability using data envelopment analysis (DEA), a nonparametric approach for estimating relative efficiencies of decision-making units. We tested our models using plant-level data collected from a sample of U.S. plants. Our study makes a key contribution by developing a new methodology to measure IT business value with respect to the role of IT-enabled production capability. We operationalize a new DEA-based measure of capability using the relative efficiency of converting plant inputs into process outputs, a significant departure from extant research that has primarily focused on subjective and absolute measures to conceptualize capability.

Recent healthcare reform has focused on reducing excessive waste in the U.S. healthcare system, with duplicate testing being one of the main culprits. We explore the factors associated with duplicate tests when patients utilize healthcare services from multiple providers, and yet information sharing across these providers is fragmented. We hypothesize that implementation of health information sharing technologies will reduce the duplication rate more for radiology tests compared to laboratory tests, especially when health information sharing technologies are implemented across disparate provider organizations. We utilize a unique panel data set consisting of 39,600 patient visits from 2005 to 2012, across outpatient clinics of 68 hospitals, to test our hypotheses. We apply a quasi-experimental approach to investigate the impact of health information sharing technologies on the duplicate testing rate. Our results indicate that usage of information sharing technologies across health organizations is associated with lower duplication rates, and the extent of reduction in duplicate tests is more pronounced among radiology tests compared to laboratory tests. Our results support the need for implementation of health information exchanges as a potential solution to reduce the incidence of duplicate tests.