5. Discussion, recommendations and further research
In this article, we have presented an analytical framework for assessing the role of IT as a
source of competitive advantage. This framework is derived from the integration of two major
strategic management paradigms, the position-based and the resource-based views. We have
used this model to analyze the recent development in logistics of IT and in particular of three
Internet related applications, E-commerce, E-employee services and e-global logistics.
We find that to create a competitive advantage, IT must fulfill several demanding requirements
and that in practice IT tends to be a “strategic necessity”.
Indeed, the application of the analytical framework to assess IT use in logistics shows some
interesting results: (1) Logistics IT applications are mainly outsourced and are available on
the market (in fact, most of the logistics companies who first develop their own systems have
switched to commercial, standard solutions) and therefore limits the differentiation by IT per
se;(2) Although in most cases these applications are creating value by increasing the productivity
or the quality of the operations, the gains are difficult to keep by the logistics company
due to the industry structure; (3) As expected the determinant of competitive advantage lie in
the combination of human and business resources with IT.
The last point deserves further discussion because it suggests two complementary (but distinctive)
strategies depending on the IT system.