Human Factors and IT Competitive Value

This study analyzes the system of relationships that may explain the impact of information technology (IT) on competitive advantage. In this social and economic system, the study focuses on the human factors that play a key role in IT effectiveness. This is a first step to empirically specifying which human resources can complement the effect of IT on organizations. The paper revisits the main theoretical frameworks that can explain the research issue and proposes an empirical model to test the hypotheses. The results, obtained from a Data Envelopment Analysis, show that there are some human factors that positively affect the influence of IT utilization on competitive advantage. Nevertheless, other structural, industrial and internal factors may play an important role in the relationship.