网络交互策略如何提高企业的跨组织治理效力？——TTF匹配效应检验

Transaction cost theory (TCT) and relational exchange theory (RET) have been taken as two major theoretical bases in the literature. TCT acknowledges that firms may utilize contractual governance to suppress interfirm opportunisms, while RET maintains that relational governance is essential for the stabilization of the interfirm relationships. Recently, researchers began to explore the possible impact of information technology (IT) or Internet tools on interorganizational governance. However, this stream of literature treats IT or Internet tools only as a variable or variables that can be measured from multiple dimensions. It neither classifies the tools into different types, nor examines the effects of different tools on one governance task or the different effects of one tool on different governance tasks. On the other hand, a recent study dichotomized the ways that firms use Internet tools to communicate and interact with their stakeholders, namely Internet interactive strategies, into interorganizational system (IOS) -enabled interactions and social media (SM)-enabled interactions, and explored the different roles they played in interfirm collaboration based on the task-technology fit (TTF) model. We propose and test the TTF effects between the Internet interactive strategies and interfirm governance tasks, answering the question how Internet interactive strategies could improve the efficacy of interorganizational governance. Following the essential logic of TTF model and taking Internet interactive strategies as the usage of IT, interorganizational governance as tasks, and partners’ opportunisms and firm’s performance as consequences, we develop two hypotheses. Based on the argument that IOS-enabled interactions more fit contractual governance while SM-enabled interactions more fit relational governance in need for information, H1 predicts that IOS-enabled interactive strategy is more helpful than SM-enabled interactive strategy to increase the efficacy of contractual governance in (a) inhibiting partners’ opportunisms and (b) improving a firm’s own performance; and H2 predicts that SM-enabled interactive strategy are more helpful than IOS-enabled interactive strategy to increase the efficacy of relational governance in (a) inhibiting partners’ opportunisms and (b) improving firm’s own performance. We use two sets of data collected respectively from the side of 550 and 501 manufacturers to test hypotheses. We conclude that since IOS-enabled interactive strategy fits contractual governance but not relational governance, it is more effective in promoting the efficacy of contractual governance while weakens, or shows the insignificant effect on, the efficacy of relational governance. In contrary, since SM-enabled interactive strategy fits relational governance but not contractual governance, it is more effective in strengthening the efficacy of relational governance while weakens, or shows the insignificant effect on, the efficacy of contractual governance. Our major contribution is proposing, testing and confirming TTF effects between Internet interactive strategies and interorganizational governance mechanisms. Our findings not only enrich the literature of interorganizational governance, but also imply a new perspective for considering and investigating the issues on interorganizational governance in the Internet context. In practice, the results of this paper may help firms to alleviate their concerns toward the utilization of Internet tools. Firms are suggested to choose certain Internet tools that best fit their governance tasks, especially suggested to adopt social media when trying to enhance the efficacy of relational governance.