I nf or mat ion technol ogy i s a “hot ” topic. Consult ant , sof twar e and hardwar e compani es, the speciali
zed press and even som e academi cs pr esent IT as the cor ner st one to fir m’ s per for mance.
T hi s cl aim is even str onger in the logi st ics sect or wher e the devel opm ent of the Int ernet and rel
at ed technol ogies has opened some unexpect ed possi bi li t ies. However , despi te this enthusiasm,
som e ear li er work in IT research has call ed for a mor e prudent vi ew on IT , st at i ng that IT does
not aut omati cal ly pr ovides the fir m wit h a com pet it ive advantage.