The Value Of IS – A New Perspective

Several studies have been done in the last decades to align business and IS personnel and to present how IS can increase business value. Nevertheless, many of them were not successful and the business-IS gap is still present in many companies causing several failed IS implementation projects. Consequently, IS department is often considered merely as a cost and not as an enabler of business value. However, researchers were focusing mostly on the business value of IS and regardless of the effort the same problems that were existing a decade ago are still present in the business-IS relationship. Therefore, there is a strong a need to improve the importance of IS by presenting the value of IS from a different perspective. By the advent of social networks new opportunities are emerging for researchers and organizations to recognize the new value of IS. The purpose of this research is thus to present IS as an enabler and constructor of a better future and not emphasizing merely the business value of IS. Approximately 400 undergraduate students will be invited to participate in the research enabling to present the value of IS in a way that helps people to live better

Environmental modelling of the Chief Information Officer

Since the introduction of the term in the 1980’s, the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has been widely researched. Various perceptions and dimensions of the role have been explored and debated. However, the explosion in data proliferation (and the inevitable resulting information fuelled change) further complicates organisational expectations of the CIOs role. If organisations are to competitively exploit the digital trend, then those charged with recruiting and developing CIOs now need to be more effective in determining (and shaping) CIO traits and attributes, within the context of their own organisational circumstances and in line with stakeholder expectations. CIOs also need to determine their own suitability and progression within their chosen organisation if they are to remain motivated and effective. Before modelling the role of the future CIO, it is necessary to synthesise our current knowledge (and the lessons learnt) about the CIO. This paper, therefore, aims to identify and summate the spectrum of key researched ‘themes’ pertaining to the role of the CIO. Summating previous research, themes are modelled around four key CIO ‘dimensions’, namely (1) Impacting factors, (2) Controlling factors (3) Responses and (4) CIO ‘attributes’. Having modelled the CIOs current environment, and recognising the evolving IT enabled information landscape, the authors call for further research to inform the recruitment and development of the future CIO in terms of personal attributes and the measurable impact such attributes will have on their respective organisation

The impact of top management support on the perceived IS value – should we focus on the partnership?

Presenting the value of IS to business managers is an important challenge in the business-IS relationship. Despite several contemporary advantages of IS that are based on the digital innovations and social media, these advantages are not easily utilized if top management does not perceive the business value in IS. The purpose of this paper is thus to examine to which extent top management support contributes to the increased perceived value of IS and simultaneously to examine whether partnership relation between top managers and IS personnel contributes more. Based on the literature review and several interviews with top managers and IS managers a model for increasing perceived value of IS has been proposed with the intention to justify the importance of each factor. The model has been empirically tested with structural equation modelling using the data from 221 IS managers. Based on the research findings, suggestions for top managers and IS managers are presented

EXAMINING THE BUSINESS-IS RELATIONSHIP: A LITERATURE OVERVIEW AND ITS IMPACT (34)

The relationship between the top management and IS has been the subject of several research studies for over 50 years since this relationship is often inefficient and prevents the effective use of IS in many organisations. This inefficient relationship is often denoted as a gap between both sides. Despite significant efforts to bridge this gap, it is still present in many organisations and several of them are not sufficiently aware of its consequences. The aim of this paper is thus to present an overview of this important research topic and to examine the research impact and its relevance. The business-IS relationship was selected since this topic has been one of the core IS research areas in the last decades; and therefore, it is reasonably to expect that the research had an important impact among wider audience. Unfortunately, it is not the case. The paper thus presents a literature overview of the business-IS gap, a preliminary impact analysis, its possible implications and the future research possibilities

Identifying factors in the relationship between top management and IS personnel

Permanent development of new technologies, growing expectations of customers and constant struggle for surviving in the market are forcing companies to develop business innovations including innovative information systems in order to obtain competitive advantages. However, consequences of implementing them in inefficient relationship between top management and IS personnel are often neglected. There are still numerous failed IS implementation projects due to failed attempts to align business and IS spheres in the companies. Neglecting the gap between top management and IS personnel can cause severe consequences. The purpose of this research is thus to ease the understanding of the relationship between top management and IS personnel and to define key factors that are important in this relationship. 221 CIOs and 93 CEOs agreed to participate in the research and the responses were compared reciprocally. The result of the empirical investigation reveals the existence of nine factors that are important in the business-IS relationship with seven factors being perceived differently by the top management and IS management and thus causing the gap in the business-IS relationship

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF FACILITATORS FOR ENHANCING SISP SUCCESS AND DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES

Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) has been recognized as one of the most essential tasks for better management and supporting strategic use of IS/IT in the current dynamic and increasingly digitalized environments. However, undertaking SISP is difficult, because organisations need to take multiple planning perspectives, including managerial, environmental and organisational perspectives all at the same time. To achieve and sustain organisational performance and competitive advantage, various facilitators affecting successful undertaking of SISP process, and the relationship regarding the facilitators and SISP success, need to be well identified and understood. The relevant SISP facilitators are selected to enhance SISP success and to improve dynamic capabilities. This paper proposes a model to show the relationship between six critical facilitators and SISP success. This research intends to undertake the survey of top 1,000 Korean large organisations to examine the relationships and test the proposed research hypothesis. A pilot study was carried out to confirm the adequacy and reliability of the research instrument, which final items are presented in this paper

A Conceptual Framework for Assessing Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) Success in the Current Dynamic Environments

Within the current dynamic, increasingly globalized and digitalized environments, Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) is recognized as one of the most important tasks for better management and supporting strategic use of IS/IT. However, undertaking SISP process in today’s dynamic environments is difficult because organisations need to consider and take multiple planning perspectives, including managerial, environmental and organisational factors simultaneously, not to deal with only one important perspective. To facilitate organisational performance and sustain competitive advantage through SISP success, various factors and their relationship regarding SISP success, organisational performance and competitive advantage need to be well identified and understood. This paper proposes a model to show relationship between seven primary factors and SISP success; SISP success and its outcomes; and the factors and SISP’s outcomes. Further research is planned to undertake the survey of top 1,000 Korean large organisations to examine the relationships and test the proposed research hypothesis

Direct and Mediating Influences of User-Developer Perception Gaps in Requirements Understanding on User Participation

User participation is considered an effective way to conduct requirements engineering, but user-developer perception gaps in requirements understanding occur frequently. Since user participation in practice is not as active as we expect and the requirements perception gap has been recognized as a risk that negatively affects projects, exploring whether user-developer perception gaps in requirements understanding will hinder user participation is worthwhile. This will help develop a greater comprehension of the intertwined relationship between user participation and perception gap, a topic that has not yet been extensively examined. This study investigates the direct and mediating influences of user-developer requirements perception gaps on user participation by integrating requirements uncertainty and top management support. Survey data collected from 140 subjects were examined and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that perception gaps have a direct negative effect on user participation and negate completely the positive effect of top management support on user participation. Additionally, perception gaps do not have a mediating effect between requirements uncertainty and user participation because requirements uncertainty does not significantly and directly affect user participation, but requirements uncertainty indirectly influences user participation due to its significant direct effect on perception gaps. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and limitations and possible future research areas are identified

The relationship between Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) and facilitators to achieve successful business outcomes in South Korean organizations

Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) is an important process in the implementation and use of IT systems in today’s dynamic and increasingly digitalized organizations. However, SISP is not a straightforward task, it is a process that covers simultaneous multiple planning issues often in changing environmental and organizational climates. Although SISP has been widely studied, and evaluating the SISP process has matured, theory on SISP facilitators that enable successful outcomes remain sparse. The main objective of this paper is to explore such facilitators and to investigate their relationshipand contribution in achieving SISP success. By postal surveying a random sample of managers with SISP experience in South Korean organizations, we modeled the relationship between facilitators of SISP and their outcomes. The study used Structural Equation Modelling to analyze and validate its findings. This study suggests that facilitators positively affect successful SISP through business and IT alignment. It also demonstrates that effective SISP has a positive effect on organizational outcomes by ensuring organizational capabilities and IT infrastructure flexibility. The findings of this study expounding the role of facilitators adds to the theory of SISP and provides a guide to planners and managers responsible for information systems

Towards an Understanding of Information Technology Strategy Development Based on Knowledge Management

The formulation of IT strategies is increasingly seen as a collaborative process, where knowledge management (KM) and learning become central to building a shared view of how information technology (IT) can support and extend business strategies. This article presents three interrelated components that support the application of KM to IT strategy development (actors and types of knowledge, knowledge conversion modes, and technological tools and artifacts). Through a longitudinal, qualitative case study, we illustrate strategies for applying these components. Faced with the importance of knowledge and collaboration to IT strategies, the results provide recommendations so that organizations can apply concepts and practices of KM processes in formulating IT strategies