Assessing the relationship between the internet, radio frequency identifier (RFID), and information technology (IT) flexibility: A correlational study and findings

The issue of strategically aligning IT with the business has been the subject of numerous studies and research efforts both in the IT and business fields. Recent studies and research efforts on the issue of aligning IT with the business strategically have provided empirical evidence that IT flexibility is the main factor, rather than strategic alignment, in any organizational efforts aimed at achieving a successful alignment between IT and the business. One of the dimensions of IT flexibility is modularity which encompasses the tools and technologies that IT provides that aid organizations in accomplishing their organizational goals. As such, the goal of this study was to focus on these two IT tools, the Internet and RFID, in an effort to discover whether or not they correlate positively or otherwise with IT flexibility. This study was also aimed at discovering which of these two tools has stronger correlation with IT flexibility. Statistical tests conducted on the data collected for this study were Pearsonיs correlation coefficient, computational analysis using chi-square crosstabs (2 x 2). Based on these tests, the findings of this study present empirical evidence that support the hypotheses that a positive correlation exists between INTERNET and ITF ( r = 0.437, p < .001), RIFD and ITF ( r = .401, p <. 001), with no significant correlations between INTERNET and RFID ( r = .266, p = 0.790). These finding also show that the correlation between RFID and IT flexibility is stronger than that of the Internet and IT flexibility. Finally, the results of this study show that when combining both the Internet and RFID, the strength of the correlation between these two IT tools and IT flexibility becomes significantly higher correlation ( r 2 = .663, F (1,176) = 118.655, p < .001).