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
The productivity paradox of information technology
Communications of the ACM
Does information technology lead to smaller firms?
Management Science
Electronic markets and electronic hierarchies
Communications of the ACM
Information and Management
Information Technology Effects on Firm Performance As Measured by Tobin's Q
Management Science
Disaggregating the return on investment to IT capital
ICIS '98 Proceedings of the international conference on Information systems
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
Corporate Information Strategy and Management: Text and Cases
Corporate Information Strategy and Management: Text and Cases
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
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
Measuring the organizational impact of information technology investment: an exploratory study
Journal of Management Information Systems - Special section: Realizing value from information technology investment
Journal of Management Information Systems
Journal of Management Information Systems
Information Technology as an Enabler of Growth in Firms: An Empirical Assessment
Journal of Management Information Systems
Information Technology, Production Process Outsourcing, and Manufacturing Plant Performance
Journal of Management Information Systems
The Journal of Strategic Information Systems
Investment in Enterprise Resource Planning: Business Impact and Productivity Measures
Journal of Management Information Systems
Information Technology and Management
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A large body of research has examined the performance effects of diversification. However, these results have been mixed, and scholars have called for examining contingencies under which the effects of different types (related, unrelated, geographic) and levels of diversification on performance vary. This study attempts to fill this gap in the literature by arguing that examining the performance effects of diversification is incomplete without taking into consideration the firm's information technology (IT) spending. We posit that IT, by enabling coordination and control in firms, is likely to moderate the relationship between diversification and performance. Combining arguments from both resource-based view and the organizational controls literature, we theorize about the moderating effects of IT spending under different types and levels of diversification. Using data from large U.S. manufacturing firms, we test our research hypotheses. Our results indicate that while IT spending interacts with related diversification to have a positive effect on firm performance, similar interactions with unrelated diversification do not have any effects on firm performance. Furthermore, the interaction between IT spending and geographic diversification is positively associated with performance only when the level of geographic diversification is low. We interpret and discuss these results and highlight the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.