Toward a Theory of Intelligent Organizations: Constructs, Measurement, and Theoretical Models at Firm and Interfirm Levels(1/3)

Although the idea of intelligent organization or organizational intelligence has been proposed and studied for some time, the research remains largely under-developed. The contribution is mainly in the form of anecdotal cases or books with various frameworks. The intelligence of organizations should become increasingly critical for performance with recent rapidly advanced information technology. This three-year project will attempt to develop a theory of intelligent organizations by linking IT-enabled knowledge competences with performance capabilities, which then lead to greater environmental fitness and thus higher performance. A distinct feature of the project’s approach is to include three dimensions of time-oriented knowledge competences: organizational memory for the past; organizational mindfulness for the present; and foresight for the future. The theoretical proposition is that the three time-oriented competences in combination will help organizations improvise and adapt when facing uncertain environments, and thus achieve higher performance. The first two years will develop the scales of the theoretical constructs and test the research models at the firm level. The third year will extend the results to the interfirm level by examining the dyadic relationship in supply chains. It is expected that the results of these three-year project will produce significant theoretical contributions and strong practical implications.