Collaborative IT tools leveraging competence: antecedents and consequences

Abstract

A fundamental problem for IS academics and managers is how collaborative IT tools can be properly used to create business value. To shed light on this problem, this paper introduces the notion of “Collaborative IT Tools Leveraging Competence” as the ability of groups to effectively leverage the IT functionalities of collaborative IT tools to facilitate their group activities. Collaborative IT Tools Leveraging Competence is conceptualized as a formative second-order construct formed by the group’s effective use of the following six key IT functionalities: workspace sharing, conferencing, file sharing, scheduling, chat, and email. Collaborative IT Tools Leveraging Competence is hypothesized to facilitate group performance (process efficiency, project effectiveness, and situational awareness), particularly in intense work environments. To enhance a group’s ability to effectively leverage collaborative IT tools, the study proposes a set of enabling factors: customization of the collaborative IT tools, the group’s habit in using collaborative IT tools, the group’s perceived usefulness and ease of use of collaborative IT tools, the group member’s mutual trust, and the degree of environmental intensity. Data from 365 group managers support the proposed structural model with the antecedents and consequences of Collaborative IT Tools Leveraging Competence at different levels of environmental intensity. The paper discusses the study’s contributions of better understanding the nature, antecedents, and consequences of Collaborative IT Tools Leveraging Competence. Implications for evaluating and enhancing the role of collaborative IT tools are discussed.