The relational capital of the IT department. Measuring a key resource for creating strategic value
| Pages | 835-859 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-12-2014-0132 |
| Date | 12 October 2015 |
| Published date | 12 October 2015 |
| Author | Alessandro Zardini,Francesca Ricciardi,Cecilia Rossignoli |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Knowledge management |
The relational capital of
the IT department
Measuring a key resource for creating
strategic value
Alessandro Zardini
Department of Business Administration, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
Francesca Ricciardi
Department of Business Economics, University of Verona, Verona, Italy, and
Cecilia Rossignoli
Department of Business Administration, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how the relational capital of the information
technology (IT) department creates value in organizations. In addition, the paper presents a multi-dimensional
scale to measure and manage relational capital in the IT department.
Design/methodology/approach –In the first, explorative phase of the study, interviews and focus
groups were conducted in order to develop a new measurement scale, which was subsequently tested
through a survey questionnaire (212 respondents).
Findings –This research suggests that the relational capital of the IT department is a very important
resource for the creation of strategic value. The statistical analysis conducted for this study confirmed
the validity and reliability of the novel scale developed to measure this resource. Finally, thanks to
factor analysis, five dimensions for the scale were identified.
Research limitations/implications –Data were collected in northern Italy only. Further studies are
advisable to confirm the validity of the constructs and scale.
Practical implications –The questionnaire presented in this study can be used to monitor
the effectiveness of the interactions between the IT department and the other key actors involved in
IT-enabled innovation. The adoption of this scale and its possible adaptation to specific, evolving
business contexts may enhance the practitioner’s understanding of the role of relational capital in the
value creation process.
Originality/value –The paper contributes to the “third stage”of intellectual capital research by
concentrating on an intra-organizational level of analysis, which has been overlooked in the literature
to date.
Keywords Social capital, Competitive advantage, Relationship capital
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
After all, it is through ICT that we shape, re-shape and enable all of our processes. How should
our IT people make sense of their job, then? I say: by continuously, constructively interacting
with our specific business eco-system. Otherwise, why should not we just outsource the IT
function? (General Manager from 2012 Focus Group).
Organizations often regard the efficiency of information technology (IT) infrastructure
as the key, or even the sole, criterion to attach value to the IT department. As a
consequence, many IT personnel see their main role as to keep the lights on and the
costs low, while smoothly enabling the complete range of the organization’s business
processes (Peppard, 2010).
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 16 No. 4, 2015
pp. 835-859
©Emerald Group Publis hing Limited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/JIC-12-2014-0132
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1469-1930.htm
835
The relational
capital of
the IT
department
Many organizations tend to evaluate, reward or even outsource the IT function
solely on the basis of its perceived efficiency. However, a number of practitioners and
scholars are not satisfied with this evaluation criterion, arguing that it does not
adequately explain the possible role of IT management in today’s knowledge econo my.
Research into both management and information systems (IS) has fueled an in-depth
debate (Liang et al., 2010), resulting in the widely-accepted idea that IT can be leveraged
to enhance not only organizational efficiency but also the creation of strategic value
and competitive advantage (Kohli and Grover, 2008).
Specific conceptual and measurement tools are needed to reveal the extent to which
any specific IT department is likely to contribute to strategic performance in the
medium to long term. However, the research literature offers only limited support to
meet this need. Existing studies tend to focus on the interpersonal skills, relationships
and capabilities of the Chief Information Officer (CIO), who can be hired away by
competitors at any time. The more persistent role of the IT department as a whole,
a key actor in the organizational structure, has so far been overlooked by the literature.
This paper seeks to address this gap and to consider the role of the CIO as being
embedded in a social structure that is made up of IT managers and other IT personnel.
This research suggeststhat the relational capital of the IT department is a key resource,
which may strongly influence the creation of competitive advantage and strategic
value. The more this resource is structurally supported by the culture, processes and
organizationalembeddedness of the whole ITdepartment, the more it can be safeguarded
from possible turnover in the IT management team.
The concept of relational capital has evolved in the last few years. It was developed
by members of the intellectual capital (IC) community, who were initially interested in
the knowledge resources that could be derived from relationships with the firm’s
customers (Christopher, 1996); however, many scholars soon extended this construct
to include the knowledge resources embedded in relationships with other external
counterparts (Bontis, 2002).
The literature review reveals a substantial ambiguity inthe operationalization of this
construct. Management scholars have concentrated almost exclusively on two levels of
analysis when investigating relationship-based resources: organizations, on the one
hand, and individual managers or professionals, on the other. The relationship-based
resourcesof individuals are usually measuredagainst the well-establishedscales of social
capital, such as the structure of social connections, the level of friendship, trust
and commitment and the cognitive consonance of the relationship under study
(Adler and Kwon,2002; Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998).There is less consensus on the way
that the relationship-based resources of organizations should be measured. Sometimes
the scales of social capital are borrowed for this level of analysis; in other cases, social
capital scales are complemented by further measures, more oriented to relational
effectiveness and purposefulness for value creation, consistent with the theoretical
foundationsof IC research, which are stronglyrooted in the resource-based view (RBV)of
the firm. The intra-firm relational capital of organizational functions or departments has,
however, been largely overlooked to date.
This is quite surprising, because the intra-firm level of analysis is very interesting.
The literature has highlighted the importance of coordination between different
divisions, areas and functions within the organization (Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967).
Organizational functions tend to become increasingly specialized over time; there is
a drift toward different and sometimes barely compatible languages, and even to the
development of conflicting goals. The IT department is a typical example of such
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