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The purpose of this paper is to identify the most important IT project management resources and capabilities, and rank them according to the extent to which they are valuable, rare and inimitable.

Using a Delphi methodology, the data collection process was conducted with the collaboration of members of academia and professionals with expertise in IT project management.

The top ten most important resources/capabilities in IT project management were identified, the majority of which were capabilities; 80 per cent of the identified resources/capabilities were the same in the panel comprised of members of academia and the panel of professionals. Results showed that the two most valuable, rare and inimitable IT project management resources/capabilities were: the capability to understand and manage the needs, expectations, priorities and interests of project stakeholders; and the firm's capability to align IT projects to the strategy and business objectives of the organization.

This research guides managers in the development of key IT project management intangible resources/capabilities.

By simultaneously identifying a bundle of important IT project management resources/capabilities, evaluating the extent to which each resource/capability is valuable, rare and inimitable as well as displaying coherence between the results from the different steps of the Delphi method, the resources/capabilities identified in this study are likely to be those few that actually can influence the competitive advantage of the firm. Also, by demonstrating the less important role played by IT resources/capabilities, this study demonstrates that project management is a field of its own.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of emergent resource-capability, its configurations and its impacts on customer service innovation and cost advantages in the context of the halal dynamic environment.

The study performed a cluster analysis on a sample of 123 Malaysian halal-based third-party logistics (3PL) providers.

The findings reveal that the emergent resource-capability comprising physical, technology, knowledge, relational and organizational is advanced uniformly into low, medium and high level. The high resource-capability is significantly different with the medium and low resource-capability, while the medium resource-capability is significantly different with the low resource-capability. The extent of emergent resource-capability has a significantly positive effect on customer service innovation and cost advantage. Especially, high and medium resource-capabilities have enhanced greater customer service innovation and cost advantage significantly, indicating the higher the extent of resource-capability, the greater the enhancement of performance.

3PL providers or logistician professionals should understand the extent of emergent resource-capability to empower the competitiveness of service innovation and cost in the dynamic environment.

The study expands the knowledge with regard to resource-capability complexities which clarify the uniform extent of five emergent resource-capability naturally and provides empirical evidence on the emergent resource-capability of halal logistics services that can empower a successful halal logistics services and competitiveness.

In this paper, the authors aim to examine the impact of resource capabilities on customer loyalty of UK hotels. Understanding this impact will help organisations to improve customer satisfaction in order to obtain improved customer loyalty.

The authors use a relatively innovative data source, namely online ratings. They measure resource capabilities of a firm using customer ratings in terms of various operational criteria. Similarly, customer loyalty is measured using guests ' ratings on their intention to use the same service (stay again in the same hotel) and their intention to recommend the service to friends. The authors employ structural equation modelling to test research hypotheses.

The authors ' results indicate that there is a significant positive influence of resource capabilities on customer loyalty. They further find that the significant influence of resource capabilities on customer loyalty does not differ across hotels with various star ratings.

The authors looked at the online guest ratings available on a particular website, but it is only one of the many websites offering online hotel reservations, and not all customers that made hotel reservations using this e-booking facility would be inclined to leave feedback after their stay in the hotel. This limitation can be partially overcome by pooling similar data from a number of online hotel booking sites.

The most important managerial implication is that good resource capabilities of firms translate well into customer loyalty. Thus, managers should ensure good performance in terms of various hotel attributes – cleanliness, quality of room, facilities, and customer service – and also ensure that customers perceive good value for their money while staying in the hotel.

The authors applied structural modelling framework to verify the resource capability – performance link in the context of hotels. They used a relatively novel data source – online guest ratings of hotels – to understand the relationships between resource capabilities and customer loyalty.

Human resource capability is an important factor in determining institutional capacities in digital records preservation. This study aims to assess human resource capabilities in supporting digital records preservation in Tanzania, with special reference to the Records and Archives Management Department (RAMD) and Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA).

This study employed a descriptive case study design with multiple cases to generate insights into the topic under inquiry. Simple random and purposive sampling methods were used to select study respondents. Data were collected using questionnaires, interviews and documentary review. Qualitative data collected were subjected to content analysis, whereas quantitative data were analysed using international business machine-corporation-statistical packages and service solution.

RAMD and RITA have minimal human resource capabilities, as they contend with a shortage of qualified staff and technical personnel for digital records preservation. The shortage of funds, lack of management commitment to preserving digital records, lack of staff awareness on digital records preservation and inadequate participation of records practitioners in digital records preservation emerged as pressing challenges the two agencies contended with.

This study’s recommendations include finding alternative sources of funding, employing digital records specialists and provision of training on digital records preservation. Furthermore, this study proposes a framework that institutions can use in assessing human resource capabilities for digital records preservation.

This study contributes new knowledge and insights on the role of human resource capabilities in supporting digital records preservation in a resource-poor country.

The purpose of this paper is to address global sourcing organisational design through the following research questions: how do the roles performed by International Purchasing Offices (IPOs) change over time?; what are the resources/capabilities required by an IPO for an effective performance and how do they change over time?; and what are the contingent factors affecting such changes?

The authors employed an exploratory multiple case study approach and analysed 14 Western IPOs located in China for a period between 2007 and 2012. The data were primarily collected through 34 direct, semi-structured interviews of IPO heads and sourcing managers or senior buyers.

The authors identify and discuss the importance of ten roles played by IPOs and 12 required resources/capabilities. Furthermore, considering the changes that occurred to these IPOs over a five-year period (2007-2012), the authors observe three distinct evolutionary behaviours (i.e. “overall development”, “selective development”, and “stable configuration”) and highlight three contingent factors that jointly affect these behaviours (i.e. the architectural and technological complexity of the sourced items, annual volume sourced abroad, and experience in the foreign context).

This paper contributes to the resource-based view of the firm in a global sourcing context by highlighting the resources/capabilities required by IPOs and discussing their characteristics. Furthermore, it proposes a typology of IPO micro-organisational evolutionary behaviours. Finally, it applies contingency theory and identifies three factors that might affect the evolutionary behaviours.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating effect of religiosity of farm owners on the resource-capability-competitive advantage interaction.

A self-administered structured questionnaire was developed to collect data from farm owners who possess the experience in commercial cultivation of three main minor export crops in Sri Lanka.

The results of linear regression analysis on 456 responses received suggest that the religiosity of farm owners significantly moderates the relationships between resources, capabilities and competitive advantage of the minor export crop farms, confirming the study hypotheses.

Future studies should consider the specific impact of different religious affiliations, traits and/or precepts of the farm owners. In addition, educational level, income level and mental capacity of the farm owners should be considered too since they may form part of the observed relationships.

The study has addressed the gap in literature by highlighting the potential of religiosity in the interaction between resources, capabilities and competitive advantage. From the practical standpoint, besides providing some directions to the farm owners, the results also benefit different stakeholders such as policy makers, government and local communities in suggesting and implementing appropriate measures with regard to selecting suitable resources and integrating them with proper capabilities for greater competitive advantage of the agribusiness sector.

Grounded in the resource-based view and social exchange theory, the purpose of this paper is to develop a research model that offers a comprehensive understanding of the antecedents and consequences of electronic supply chain management (e-SCM) diffusion.

Survey data from 142 managers (in charge of e-SCM projects in their companies) of large Taiwanese firms were collected and used to test the hypotheses using hierarchical moderated regression analysis.

The results indicate that information technology deployment capability, operational capability, human resource capability, and knowledge sharing are important antecedents of e-SCM diffusion. In turn, higher levels of e-SCM diffusion lead to greater competitive performance. This study also finds that knowledge sharing plays a moderating role by strengthening the relationship between organizational capabilities (e.g. operational capability and human resource capability) and e-SCM diffusion.

Managers should recognize that human resource development activities (recruiting, training, and managing valuable e-SCM personnel) are an important source of e-SCM diffusion. Similarly, managers must establish the connection between human resource capabilities and e-SCM diffusion (i.e. “soft-side” e-SCM) such as hiring and retaining skilled e-SCM personnel, training and development for e-SCM personnel, and measuring e-SCM personnel’s global mindset over time.

Theoretically, this study aims to provide a research model that is capable of understanding the antecedents and consequences of e-SCM diffusion. From the managerial perspective, the findings of this study provide valuable decision guides for practitioners to help them identify and develop firm internal capabilities and social mechanisms that foster e-SCM diffusion.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of human resource (HR) and manufacturing plant information technology (MP-IT) resource on companies’ internal integration capabilities and how these resources/capabilities influence supplier integration.

Using data collected from 604 Chinese manufacturers, the authors empirically test the effects of different types of resources/capabilities on supplier integration.

The results show that HR has both direct and indirect effects on supplier integration through their effects on internal integration capabilities. MP-IT resource only has significant indirect effects on supplier integration through internal integration capabilities. The results also indicate that HR is more important than MP-IT resource in improving internal integration capabilities and supplier integration.

This study empirically investigates enablers of supplier integration in China, contributing to supply chain integration literature and practices.

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of integrated audit management and its impact on business sustainability for an emerging economy.

Drawing on the dynamic capability and contingency theory, the authors investigated the factors on integrated audit management implementation using a sample of 104 certified Malaysian manufacturing firms. The collected data has been analysed using the partial least squares through the structural equation modelling technique.

The findings have revealed that human resource capability, technological capability and quality capability have a robust influence on the importance of the internal audit process, which, in turn, leads to integrated audit management effectiveness towards the outcome of business sustainability. The results have also indicated the mediating effect of the internal audit process on the research model.

The contribution from the empirical findings will provide productive insights to help manufacturing firms devise an effective integrated internal audit management system to ensure business sustainability and increase competitiveness advantages for an emerging economy.

The purpose of this exploratory case study is to determine how an enterprise can identify and measure a key resource capability (critical knowledge area) to enhance competitive advantage, in the context of the emerging field of knowledge management. On the basis of the literature on resource capabilities and strategic management, the term critical knowledge area has been formulated as a label for a key resource capability.