Strategic and Competitive Uses of Information Technology

Cloud based information management is emerging as the next generation strategies for competitive differentiation for firms. With information management capability (IMC) being critical for companies to obtain value, establishing an integrated capability based on cloud systems is vital for firms to win in a changing competitive environment. However, this area has received scant attention in extant literature. We propose that the integration of cloud with local IT systems is a critical factor that leads to business performance, and argue that superior integration of cloud with IT (synchronization integration) improves business performance attributes of business responsiveness and business scalability. Furthermore, we theorize that this effect is mediated by cloud functional capabilities consisting of technology, market offering and service portfolio capabilities. Empirical analysis supports hypotheses. Along with contributions to Information Systems research, the study sheds light on how cloud integration can influence business performance via mediating cloud functional capabilities.