Information systems for sustainable competitive advantage

There has been an increase in the attention paid to the strategic potential of information systems and a new willingness to accept the possibility that information systems can be the source of strategic gains. This belief is reflected in a host of publications, from the popular press to respected journals. Much of this has been supported by a very limited set of prominent and well publicized success stories, principally involving marketing and distribution, financial services, and the airlines. Unfortunately, there has been little attempt at an analysis that abstracts from these experiences to determine factors that determine strategic success. This can be attributed in part to the absence of attention paid to unsuccessful ventures in the use of information technology for competitive advantage. Although this paper relies on the same anecdotes, it augments them with data on a few unsuccessful attempts to exploit information technology and with economic theory where appropriate. General conditions that appear necessary for sustainable competitive advantage are developed.