AbstractResearch indicates that deploying appropriate information technology (IT) competency in a manner that fits the supply chain integration (SCI) of a firm induces superior firm performance; however, our understanding of how to empirically conceptualize and assess the performance effect of the fit remains limited. Drawing upon resource orchestration theory and the literature on fit assessment methodologies, our study employs both a contingency and a configuration perspective to conceptualize and operationalize “fit.” The results of a survey of 196 firms in China provide the first empirical evidence for the existence and nature of interrelationships between multiple components of SCI and IT competency and their effects on firm performance. In particular, fit as “moderation” approach indicates that IT competency could strengthen the relationship between SCI and both operational and financial performance. Fit as “profile deviation” approach further reveals that the more similar the IT competency configurations are to those of the top performers in the high‐level SCI group, the higher their operational and financial performance are. However, in the medium‐ and low‐level SCI groups, the SCI‐IT competency fit is significantly positively associated with financial performance and insignificantly associated with operational performance. The theoretical contributions and managerial implications of the study are discussed.

AbstractDespite the operational nature of enterprise system (ES) implementation and use, individual employees or work groups may deploy technology workarounds to circumvent inflexibility in or obstacles to using the ES. However, our understanding of the multilevel nature of technology workarounds and their performance implications remains limited. Drawing upon the multilevel theory of system usage and adaptive structuration theory, the current study examines the conditions under which group technology workarounds affect group performance, individual technology workarounds, and individual performance. Based on two studies with different research designs, we find that group technology workarounds have distinctive effects on short‐ and on long‐term group performance. Specifically, while the impact of group technology workarounds on group performance is significantly positive in the short term, such effect diminishes over time. System failure and competition intensity strengthen the positive effect of group technology workarounds on short‐term performance, whereas system failure and task nonroutineness lessen the negative effect of group technology workarounds on long‐term performance. Our study further confirms the multilevel nature of technology workarounds, finding that group technology workarounds can influence individual technology workarounds and thereby individual performance. Our results support the view that technology workarounds as a group action should be considered alongside individual technology workarounds, as well as their positive and negative effects on both group and individual performance, in both the short‐ and long‐term.