The Mediating Effect of Competitive Advantage on the Relationship Between Human IT Resources and Performance

Abstract

Human IT capability gained mainly from the organization based on the strategic perspective of human resources. Human capital is a valuable resource for organizations as intellectual assets. Hence, human IT resources can be perceived as a strategic capability that directly impacts performance in the Jordanian banking sector. This research aims to examine the mediating effect of competitive advantage between IT human resources on performance in the Jordanian banking sector from 2014 to 2019. To achieve the research objectives, it is expected from this study to generate practical knowledge that can be used by the IT human resources of the respective banks to create a competitive advantage and improve their performance. Additionally, this study is expected to add to knowledge in various ways, including demonstration of how IT human resources as a dynamic resource could impact the competitive advantage and firm performance in light of the Resource-Based View (RBV) theory. Thus, a quantitative method is used to collect and analyze data from 16 Jordanian banks; the targeted population is about 853 management staff of the Jordanian banks. The empirical results showed the mediating effect of competitive advantage on the relationship between IT human resources and performance; this conclusion related to the sufficient capturing of the respective setting that in turn becomes a positive impact. Furthermore, human IT resources in the given context could be revealed with other resources and capabilities, or through different business routines.