Infrastructure vs. Competitive Advantage

Consider the following questions:

• In what ways is IS/IT just infrastructure and in what ways is it a competitive advantage?
• Do you think it matters on how big or small an organization is for it to be a competitive advantage?
• What other factors with IS/IT works with or against it being infrastructure vs. competitive advantage?

As you prepare for this discussion, think about how vital information systems and new technologies have become to the operation of business and how, while they often operate invisibly, they also seem to drive changes in the organization. This latter view is related to technological determinism, and the counter to that is that people can and should take responsibility for decisions that involve the technology. As people actively take control of decisions relating to implementation of technology, information systems can become a source of competitive advantage.

Start with a focus on these case studies from Chapter 1 of the Laudon and Laudon textbook:

• The San Francisco Giants...
• UPS Competes Globally...

After reading these cases, you might want to do further reading on the topic of technology driving a change in business processes. The Empire State College library will be useful in this work, with full-text provided by many of the databases (be sure to cite your sources).