Does IT Matter? Has Technology Failed To Influence Competition at The Firm Level? Another Dimension to IT Investments and Firm Performance

Corporations stand at the threshold of a new age. Confronted with worldwide turbulence and competition, information technology is the new weapon that is capable of dramatically changing the balance of power. An effective battle plan and the ability to mobilize resources are essential. -Stuart E. Madnick. Many firms that invested in IT systems have failed to reap the full benefits desired many companies have been disappointed by their failure to achieve the benefits they sought from their investments. -Jacqueline Senker and Peter Senker Organizations that do not take advantage of the growing opportunities provided by IT are likely to slip behind in the competitive business world. -Robert I. Benjamin, John F. Rockart, Michael S. Scott Morton, John Wyman Contrary to common beliefs about the crucial role of information technology (IT) in the modern world, empirical research has failed to provide consistent evidence of the positive effect of IT investments on corporate productivity and profitability. -Bharadwaj, A.S. If we have learned one thing from the 1990s, its that the big bang, IT driven initiatives rarely produce expected returns; they are complicated and expensive, take a long time to implement and are fraught with risk. Rather create economic value, more often than not they destroy it. John Seely Brown and John Hagel II

Evaluating the Short Run Effects of U.S. Crude Oil Inventory Levels on WTI Crude Oil Price from 1993 – 2013

The focus of this research was to investigate the short-term influence of U.S. crude oil inventories on WTI crude oil prices from 1993 to 2013. This study is important for policy makers who wish to reduce the persistent and growing price volatility of crude oil and its related products as well as businesses such as airline companies who wish to make annual budgetary sales decisions. Using OLS multiple regression, cointegration, VECM and Ex-post forecast techniques; we provide evidence of an inelastic relationship in which a 1% increase in U.S. crude oil inventories is associated with 0.46% decrease in WTI crude oil prices; however this was only valid for 22% of WTI crude oil price variation. We also find that past data on U.S. crude oil inventories could be used to predict future WTI crude oil prices movement. Contrary to literature, the results of the VECM analysis indicate there is no short-run relationship between both variables over the trajectory