The Impact of the Alignment Between Information Systems and Marketing on Business Performance

The purpose of this research was to determine the impact of the strategic alignment between information systems (IS) and marketing on business performance. The work of Chan (1992) was used as a point of departure. She had explored the fit between IS and business strategies and had used strategic orientation as a basis for determining the fit (alignment). Although the marketing literature did not reveal any measure for alignment, measures existed for market orientation. This appeared to be the approximate marketing equivalent of strategic orientation. Given the strategic nature of market orientation, it was decided to use it in addition to strategic orientation in order to calculate alignment. It was also decided to use marketing performance as an intermediary dependent variable. A conceptual model was devised which could be applied to the assessment of alignment according to either strategic orientation or market orientation. It consisted of three constructs: alignment, marketing performance and business performance. Implicit in this model was the calculation of alignment based either on strategic orientation or on market orientation. Two versions of the model would thus be tested. A mixed methods approach was adopted for the research. First, a qualitative phase of interviews with 36 respondents (the heads of information technology (IT)/IS and the heads of marketing of 18 companies) was conducted. The purpose was to obtain a deeper understanding of perceptions of alignment between IS and marketing, and to ascertain the different measures used for marketing performance and business performance. The findings served to refine the conceptual model and inform the second phase survey. The second phase was quantitative and consisted of a mail survey of heads of IT and heads of marketing of large New Zealand companies. In total 415 responses were received, 350 of them being pairs from 175 companies. Pairs of responses were a requirement for the calculation of alignment. A new formula was developed for the calculation. This was used to calculate alignment according to both strategic orientation and market orientation. The data collected in the second phase were used to test the model, using both factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Statistically significant evidence was provided that indicated that the alignment between IS and marketing exerts a positive impact on both business performance and marketing performance, and that marketing performance exerts a positive impact on business performance. This is so, irrespective of whether alignment is calculated according to strategic orientation or market orientation. The value of the research lies in the development of a parsimonious model which measures the alignment between IS and marketing and the impact of that on business performance. It also lies in the development of a robust formula for the calculation of alignment. It further demonstrates the value of a cross-disciplinary approach which could have significant implications for both academic research and for practitioners. The potential impact on companies consists of the breaking down of the silo mentality; an emphasis on cross-functional teamwork, cross-functional training and job rotation; and an impact on organizational structure and culture

Configuring the strategic orientation of manufacturing firms for economic sustainability: a study of the UK touring caravan industry

The main purpose of this research is to examine the role of strategic orientation for effective supply chain management (SCM). A form of strategic orientation which focusses on a process-base, supply chain orientation (SCO) has already been established as a pre-requisite for SCM (Mentzer et al. 2001; Min and Mentzer, 2004, Esper et al. 2010) but as a key concept, SCO research is less developed than SCM. This research contributes to fulfilling this shortfall by identifying SCO as a multiple construct requiring the alignment of three other strategic orientations which are all function-based: purchasing orientation, marketing orientation and production1orientation. This study investigates why it is important for an organisation to retain a configuration, meaning an alignment of strategic orientation approaches, not just to rely on one approach. Existing studies have identified that individually, these three function-based strategic orientation approaches support the necessary flows, such as product, capital and information flows, within the organisation for effective SCO and SCM. To achieve SCO, Esper et al. (2010) acknowledged the importance of managing specific behaviours, such as cooperation and trust. This study examines how these behaviours form the organisational culture to create important linkages and dependencies between purchasing orientation, market orientation and production orientation that can contribute towards achieving SCO. Utilising a case study approach, empirical evidence was gathered between 2009 and 2015 from a single industry, the UK touring caravan manufacturing industry. The UK touring caravan manufacturing industry had not previously been the focus of an academic supply chain study, thus it provided an original platform to conduct the research. The initial data collection period was between 2009 and 2011, a time when manufacturing managers were facing a period of economic hyper-turbulence. During such times, senior managers of UK manufacturing organisations struggled to align the internal business strategy with the business environment which was being shaped by multiple challenging factors: hyper-competition, economic hyper-turbulence and globalisation. Thus, there was a need for managers to go beyond the strategy level and to re-examine the way their businesses were fundamentally orientated. Systems Theory (Biology), as a single theoretical approach, has been frequently applied in supply chain research. This research explores how in order to manage a system effectively, two additional theoretical pillars; Resource Dependence Theory (Strategic Management) and Resource Based View (Strategic Management), may be relevant. These theoretical lenses underpin the investigation which is framed by three research questions: RQ1: How does supply chain orientation support supply chain management? RQ2: How may supply chain orientation be applied as a strategic orientation? RQ3: What is the role of strategic orientation? This research mainly builds on the SCO study by Esper et al. (2010), acknowledged in Chapter II as the first authors to conceptualise SCO. It contributes eight new research contributions, which are offered to further develop the understanding of SCO and the concept of strategic orientation: 1. The research offers a new Strategic Orientation Pyramid framework for better understanding the components of strategic orientation. 1 Production replaces operations in manufacturing context ii 2. A new Research Model improves understanding of the likely variables for measuring SCO. 3. There are new theoretical developments in understanding the relationship between SCO and SCM by defining the role of strategic orientation in the supply chain context. 4. The case study findings from this research suggest that optimally configuring and harmonising the firm's internal function-based strategic orientations is a pre-requisite for managing SCO as an antecedent for SCM in pursuing a more sustainable competitive advantage. 5. The research proposes that in order for the manufacturing organisation to manage its supply chain effectively through SCO, the purchasing, marketing and production functions should be seen as operating interdependently. The evidence from this research suggests that this interdependence MUST be supported by specific behaviours such as trust, commitment and cooperation amongst all employees from all three strategic business functions. 6. Building on the existing purchasing literature, the purchasing function is this research has been observed as being the first area to be adversely affected during periods of economic uncertainty. Therefore, in wider context of manufacturing, the purchasing function may need to be strategically elevated and aligned with marketing and production functions to support the firm’s SCO and SCM. This would become important when managers are forced to adapt their manufacturing strategy due to variations in demand levels which affects their management of the supply chain. 7. Case study findings indicate that strategic purchasing can play an important intermediary role in smoothing over the conflicting strategies between marketing and production. 8. Similarities are found between the manufacturer’s MRPII system and SCO in that the purchasing, marketing and production functions need to be strategically aligned and coordinated to enable effective strategic planning, forecasting, managing the supply chain, ordering of the materials and implementing caravan production for meeting customer demands. In addition to these theoretical developments, the research offers four methodological contributions and gives practical guidance for managers in understanding the important role of strategic orientation, which affects the organisation’s success or failure

Main Problems with Management Information Systems and Their Relationship to Critical MIS Success Factors

Most companies do not exploit all potential benefits of Management Information Systems (MIS). To enhance the understanding of how MIS might be better managed, a nationwide mail-survey among 280 randomly selected chief MIS executives of Corporate 1000 firms was conducted. The first part of the thesis investigated the areas of importance for MIS success and performance ratings of the 85 participating managers on the issues. In the second part relationships between these variables and the success of the MIS operations were established to derive critical success factors. The findings indicate that there is a shift towards an increased strategic importance of MIS in most companies. Accordingly, the MIS leaders take a strategic view of MIS and stress issues affecting the entire organization over those relating only to the MIS department. The success of current operations, however, is still mainly influenced by technical factors. Because of the transition from a technical to a strategic orientation of MIS, major problems arise in the areas of strategic MIS issues. For the same reason, the factors perceived as important for future MIS success do not coincide with the twelve critical success factors for current operations. The critical success factors, recruiting and training data processing staff, end-user computing, and measuring effectiveness enhance MIS success in terms of user satisfaction, effectiveness, and efficiency. Alignment of MIS with business goals, integrating technologies, software development, data quality, user involvement, organizational learning and information system usage, information centers, and efficient data utilization contribute to user satisfaction and effectiveness, but not to efficiency. Long-range MIS planning is not critical to MIS success since the focus of planning is shifting from internal MIS department issues to the support of the whole organization by aligning MIS with corporate objectives. In contrast to the prevailing opinion in the MIS literature, top management involvement in the definition of MIS goals is also not critical, as top management lacks a sufficient knowledge of MIS. Thus, the MIS manager is to be integrated in the corporate strategy setting and business planning process to ensure a proper alignment of MIS and business objectives

The impact of information technology resources on SMEs' innovation performance

This work aims to develop a research framework to examine the impact of information technology resources on the innovation performance of Saudi small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs innovation capability influences growth and technological progress (Bruque & Moyano, 2007). However, many developing countries exhibit moderate or even low innovation performance. For instance, Saudi Arabia is ranked 54th by the Global Innovation Index (GII 2011). Innovation systems studies focus on the alignment between the interactions of innovation actors with their constantly changing environment toward better innovation performance (Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff, 2000). The dynamic capabilities of organisations have been highlighted as a crucial characteristic that helps to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage (Teece et al., 1997). The indirect impact IT resources on innovation performance represents an attractive research area (Benitez-Amado et al., 2010). Therefore, we argue that a closer look at Saudi SMEs information technology resources and their impact on the firm dynamic capabilities and innovation performance would make a significant contribution to existing knowledge. Areas such as the organisation strategies of developing countries, innovation management, dynamic capabilities, open innovation and strategic information systems are few examples of areas that might benefit from this work

Strategic alignment: a performance tool (an empirical study of SMEs).

The purpose of this research is to investigate whether the alignment of IT with the strategy (particularly the partnership strategy or cooperation practice) and organizational structure of an SME could have a decisive influence on its performance. We constructed a model and tested it empirically using data from 381 SMEs operating in different sectors. A multivariate perspective, modelled with structural equations, was used to test the alignment between strategy, structure and IT. The alignment is considered as a covariation of a set of theoretically related variables. The results indicate that the alignment of IT with corporate strategy and organizational structure could generate the best performance levels for an SME.strategy; performance; IT; SME; Strategic alignment; organizational structure;

Correlating Architecture Maturity and Enterprise Systems Usage Maturity to Improve Business/IT Alignment

This paper compares concepts of maturity models in the areas of Enterprise Architecture and Enterprise Systems Usage. We investigate whether these concepts correlate, overlap and explain each other. The two maturity models are applied in a case study. We conclude that although it is possible to fully relate constructs from both kinds of models, having a mature architecture function in a company does not imply a high Enterprise Systems Usage maturity

A study of subsidiaries views of information systems strategic planning in multinational organisations

This research examines information systems strategic planning (ISSP) in multinationals from the perspective of the subsidiaries. The research was carried out through interviews with the IT and business managers in subsidiaries of nine large American, European, and Japanese multinationals. The evidence from this study reveals that, in the majority of these organisations, IS planning is either centralised or moving towards centralisation. The main focus of IS planning, in many of these organisations, is to control cost and achieve scale economies. As centralisation increases IT tends to control the planning process and, as a result, IS planning becomes more tactical than strategic and is dominated by IT infrastructure planning. Project implementation was the main criterion used to measure IS planning success. However, due to the dominant role of IT, the subsidiary business managers are often less satisfied with the IS planning approach compared with the subsidiary IT managers. The level of involvement of business managers and their satisfaction with ISSP was related to the degree of decentralisation of responsibility for IS planning

Contemporary performance measurement systems: A review of their consequences and a framework for research

The main purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the literature on the consequences of contemporary performance measurement (CPM) systems and the theories that explain these consequences. The framework is based on an in-depth review of 76 empirical studies published in high-quality academic journals in the areas of accounting, operations, and strategy. The framework classifies the consequences of CPM into three categories: people's behaviour, organizational capabilities, and performance consequences. This paper discusses our current knowledge on the impact of CPM, highlighting inconsistencies and gaps as well as providing direction for future research

Exploring the impact of technological competence development on speed and NPD program performance

With growing levels of competition across industries, technological competence is increasingly viewed as crucial for businesses to maintain their long-term competitive advantage. Although there are many theoretical arguments about how firms' competences can yield competitive advantage and performance improvement, we have a limited understanding of where the capabilities originate in the context of NPD or what kind of product portfolios, internal climate and strategic alignment are required to build them. Moreover, empirical evidence for technological competence development is limited and comes primarily from case studies, anecdotal evidence, and management impressions. Accordingly, this research addresses these gaps by presenting and testing a conceptual model of technological competence development in NPD. This study makes advances in applying a dynamic capability approach to technological competence development in NPD, and investigates the impact of innovative climate, technological alignment, and project portfolio management on technological competence development as well as NPD speed. Moreover, the factors that might influence NPD program performance are also investigated. The analysis, based on data collected from 164 firms, shows that a firm's innovative climate, technological alignment and portfolio management are positively associated with technological competence development. While technological alignment was found to be negatively related to NPD speed, portfolio management and technological competence development were found to have positive effects on speed. However, innovative climate had no significant impact on speed. Moreover, technological competence development and portfolio management were found to be positively related to NPD program performance. Finally, the authors found no support for the relationship between speed and NPD program performance