The impact of information systems on organizations and markets
Communications of the ACM
Sustaining IT advantage: the role of structural differences
MIS Quarterly - Special issue on the strategic use of information systems
Does information technology lead to smaller firms?
Management Science
Electronic markets and electronic hierarchies
Communications of the ACM
Information Technology Effects on Firm Performance As Measured by Tobin's Q
Management Science
The impact of information technology on financial performance: the importance of strategic choice
European Journal of Information Systems - Special issue on information systems evaluationpast, present and future
Firm Characteristics and Investments in Information Technology: Scale Andscope Effects
Information Systems Research
Information Technology and Firm Boundaries: Evidence From Panel Data
Information Systems Research
Complementarities between IT and Firm Diversification and Performance Implications
HICSS '06 Proceedings of the 39th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - Volume 08
The impact of information technology on the financial performance of diversified firms
Decision Support Systems - Special issue: Economics and information systems
Analyzing cost-effectiveness of organizations: the impact of information technology spending
Journal of Management Information Systems - Special section: Strategic and competitive information systems
Journal of Management Information Systems
Information Technology and Firm Boundaries: Impact on Firm Risk and Return Performance
Information Systems Research
Empirical research on information technology value
International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations
Banks and information technology: marketability vs. relationships
Electronic Commerce Research
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This paper empirically investigates the role played by information technology in diversified firms by building a demand function for IT investments. First by reviewing the management literature, we briefly examine different types of diversification, including related diversification, unrelated diversification, and geographic diversification. After carefully developing the theoretical arguments we empirically test the relationship between IT investments and different types of diversification. We find that in general diversified firms demand more investments in information technology, but the positive relationship may also depend on the extent to which firms diversify. Our findings show that firms with diversified structures that increase the complexities of coordination and control, e.g. unrelated diversification or extensive geographic diversification, would face a lesser demand for IT investments because of the increased use of financial controls instead of strategic controls by these firms. Overall, we find that information technology can serve as an effective coordination and control mechanism for moderate levels of diversification whereas non-IT mechanisms for coordination and control becomes more suitable in a context of higher levels of diversification. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.