The Impact of IT-Business Strategic Alignment on Firm Performance: The Role of Environmental Uncertainty and Business Strategy

Aligning information technology (IT) strategy with business strategy has been one of the top concerns of practitioners and scholars for decades. Although numerous studies have documented the positive effects of IT-business alignment on organizational performance, few considered the contextual factors that may influence the relationship. This study attempts to fulfill this gap by investigating the role of environmental uncertainty and business strategy on the performance effects of the strategic alignment. Using survey data and statistical analysis, we show that the positive effect of the strategic alignment is significant only in high uncertainty environments. We also find that these effects on organizational performance vary across business strategies and performance measures. The main contribution of this study is the investigation of strategic alignment-performance relationship with respect to different contextual factors, thus providing a richer insight into IT-business strategic alignment issues

Resource-based View in Information Systems Research: A Meta-Analysis

Resource-based view is the theory that has been applied to analyze the impact of informa-tion technology on business performance. Its main argument is that competitive advan-tages are determined by the unique valuable resources controlled by an organization. IT as a valuable asset will have positive effect on firm performance. However, previous re-search on the issue is inconsistent. This paper reports a meta analysis of 42 papers pub-lished in major journals in information systems. Our findings indicate that the capability mediated model is better than the direct effect model and the major impact of IT is on ef-ficiency indicators

Antecedents of IT-Business Alignment Factors in Influencing Sustainable Competitive Advantage

More extensive studies on the causal chain between Information Technology (IT) investments and firm performance have been encouraged by scholars. However, the results of empirical studies have been inconclusive. This is partly due to the exclusion of IT - business strategic alignment (known as strategic alignment). In particular, scholars have continuously called for research to address the antecedent factors that lead to the alignment. As a result, this study has successfully developed a causal model illustrating the relationships between strategic alignment antecedents, strategic alignment and sustainable competitive advantage. Specifically, this study has looked into the impact of IT-business strategic alignment antecedents in terms of leadership between business and IT managers, structures and processes between IT plans and business plans and examined IT managerial resources between business and IT managers, service qualities, values and beliefs, and IT implementation success on IT business strategic alignment in terms of alignment gaps. Finally, the impact of IT-business strategic alignment is also tested for its impact on sustainable competitive advantage. In order to explore the above research relationships, this study has utilized the positivism paradigm. Under this method, quantitative data was collected. More specifically, this study has tested the research model by conducting 172 survey questionnaires with public shareholding firms in Jordan. The results obtained from the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique and interviews have offered very valuable insights into the research questions. The results of the main survey questionnaire show strong evidence for the impact of the following variables: leadership, service quality, value and belief, IT managerial resources and IT implementation success, on IT – business strategic alignment. Conversely, SEM has failed to support the link between structure and process on IT business alignment. In addition, the results show strong evidence for the impact of the following: leadership, IT managerial resource and IT implementation success on sustainable competitive advantage. However, SEM failed to support the link between service quality, value and belief, and structure and process on sustainable competitive advantage. Furthermore, the results from the main survey questionnaire show strong evidence for the impact of IT – business strategic alignment on sustainable competitive advantage. Moreover, the results of the main survey questionnaire through the SEM show strong evidence for the mediating effect of strategic alignment on the relationships between value and belief, service quality and sustainable competitive advantage. This study has provided a detailed roadmap that researchers and practitioners can use in order to understand the resources required, and to realize the potential values of their IT investments. Future research is clearly needed to reveal better insights into the nature of these relationships

Towards A Systematic Approach To Reviewing The Strategic Alignment Literature

Doctoral dissertations within the IS domain presented at viva voce examinations, lack systematic and structured approaches towards the review of literature. This paper outlines a structured approach to undertaking a systematic qualitative review of the strategic alignment literature within the IS domain. The approach is guided by a six stage process and utilises a Strategy-as-Practice lens to analyse the literature. The analysis is undertaken by employing a framework constructed from a Strategy-as-Practice typology, a classification scheme from the coding method of the constructivist approach to grounded theory, and the identification of practices as bundles of shared routines. This detailed analysis offers a range of unique perspectives that have not to-date been clearly articulated within the strategic alignment literature, thus enabling a highly novel written review as part of a doctoral dissertation

How the Effects of IT Capability and Knowledge Capability on Organizational Agility are Contingent on Environmental Uncertainty and Information Intensity

Although the relationship of information technology (IT) capability and knowledge capability with organizational agility has been documented, limited information is available on the extent to which these two capabilities affect organizational agility. Attempts to understand the effect of IT and knowledge capability on organizational agility in the presence of contextual factors have also been few. Based on data collected from 123 organizations in China, we examine the moderating effects of two contextual factors (environmental uncertainty and information intensity) on the relationship of IT and knowledge capability with organizational agility. We contribute to current knowledge by showing that environmental uncertainty positively moderates the effects of IT capability and knowledge capability on organizational agility and that information intensity positively moderates the effects of knowledge capability on organizational agility. While we find that both IT and knowledge capabilities have positive effects on organizational agility, knowledge capability is more effective than IT capability

Are We Wielding this Hammer Correctly? A Reflective Review of the Application of Cluster Analysis in Information Systems Research

Cluster analysis is a powerful statistical procedure for extricating natural configurations among the data and the populations. Cluster analysis, with its seemingly limitless power to produce groupings in any dataset, has all the trappings of a super-technique. However, the method produces clusters even in the absence of any natural structure in the data, and has no statistical basis to reject the null hypothesis that there are no natural groupings in the data. Application of cluster analysis, therefore, presupposes sound researcher judgment and responsible analysis and reporting. This paper summarizes the results of a reflective review of the application of cluster analysis in Information Systems (IS) research published in major IS outlets. Based on the analysis of 55 IS applications of cluster analysis, various deficiencies noticed in its use are discussed along with suggestions for future practice. By analyzing the results over two time periods, longitudinal trends in the application of this technique are highlighted

Antecedents and Impacts of E-Business Aligment Amongst Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

E-business has great potentials for firms to extend their business efficiency. Nevertheless, due to various problems and constraints, the e-business deployment within SMEs sector has been reported as not effective. To ensure effective e-business deployment, necessary measures are needed to assess how firms align diverse ebusiness capabilities in support of their business operation. This study therefore aims to investigate the extent firms align diverse e-business capabilities across business processes (e-business alignment). Using a strategic fit perspective, this study has observed two major propositions. First, firms‟ ability to align e-business to support the most crucial business processes has potentially led to better realisation of ebusiness values. Secondly, certain managerial and environmental conditions have explained the differing characteristics of e-business alignment amongst firms. This study employs quantitative research approach using survey method to collect and collate evidences from 140 owner/managers of SMEs. Preliminary analysis has indicated e-business alignment/misalignment patterns across business functions. The cluster analysis further reveals three distinct profiles with different characteristics of e-business alignment. These profiles are labelled as 'highly fit', 'moderately fit' and 'low fit' based on their e-business fit characteristics. This result confirms the first proposition where highly aligned firms will report greater and wider e-business impacts. The second proposition reveals that environmental uncertainty, IT sophistication, owner/manager knowledge on advanced IT/IS, e-business deployment status, and support network are significant predictors to different e-business alignment characteristics among firms. This study suggests that firms relatively have different priority over e-business solutions to support their business. These findings have demonstrated why some firms do not progress to a higher e-business ladder. It further justifies unequal deployment of e-business solutions to support functions across firms

IT-BUSINESS STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT: ESSAYS EXAMINING TYPES OF ALIGNMENT AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH FIRM PERFORMANCE

While Information-Technology (IT)-Business Strategic Alignment (hereafter referred to as alignment) continues to be a topic of great concern to both researchers and practitioners alike, it is often misunderstood and, as such, many organizations find alignment difficult to achieve. In particular, alignment is often defined in many different ways, its operational measures are used inconsistently, and it is unclear how it can be attained. In this dissertation, we assert that researchers should include explicit references to the type of alignment under study, that adequate and consistent operational measures of each alignment type are necessary, and that we need a better understanding of the CIO attributes that may facilitate alignment. Each of these points is addressed in three separate essays, as discussed in the following paragraphs. In our first essay, we conducted a review and meta-analysis of the alignment literature to gain a better understanding of the types of alignment that have been examined. In particular, we probed the inter-relationships between alignment, the context, and firm performance. We found distinct relationships between three types of alignment and three measures of firm performance. We also found social alignment is a precursor to alignment within firms. Furthermore, a moderator analysis suggested sampling and measurement are an additional source of conflicting findings in the alignment literature. Through this essay, we contribute to the literature by developing clear definitions of alignment\u27s dimensions, clarifying the relationship between alignment and types of performance outcomes, and offering insight into sources of inconsistencies in alignment research. We believe this first essay offers a basis for more consistent treatment of alignment concepts in future IT research. In our second essay, we report on the development of operational measures designed to capture six different types of alignment. These instruments are intended to be a tool for studying the alignment between IT and business strategies (i.e. intellectual alignment), between IT and business infrastructures and processes (i.e. operational alignment), and across these two domains such that strategies are linked with infrastructures and processes (i.e. 4 types of cross-domain alignment). As such, this essay proposes definitions for each type of alignment and develops operational measures for each construct, each possessing desirable psychometric properties. Finally, we apply the Power-Dependence and Political Perspectives in our third essay to explain the relationship between power, political skill, and the CIO\u27s influence over the executive team\u27s commitment to strategic and technical IT initiatives. Our results suggest structural power (i.e. the CIO\u27s formal position in the firm), expert power (i.e. the CIO\u27s business and technical knowledge), and prestige power (i.e. the important connections the CIO has established) relate to the CIO\u27s influence over the executive team\u27s commitment to IT initiatives. We also found political skill positively moderates the relationship between the CIO\u27s power and influence over the executive team\u27s commitment to IT initiatives. Taken together, our literature review provides conceptual clarity about the nature of alignment. In our construct development essay, we gained operational clarity such that researchers can study the different types of alignment and their relationships with other constructs like performance. Finally, our CIO study improves our understanding of the manifestation of alignment through CIO influence on major IT-business initiatives

Strategic retail location decision-making under uncertainty: an application of complexity theory in the Greek retailing sector

The rapid environmental changes, high levels of uncertainty and difficulty in understanding these situations, make recession a uniquely challenging time for SMEs, particularly with respect to their strategic decision-making. This is especially true for retail SMEs: at the end of the supply chain, they are dependent on consumer buying power. Strategic decision-making in retail SMEs, notably location and expansion decisions, are under-researched, though there is evidence that such decisions are subjective, more an art than a science. These two elements, strategic decision making in SMEs and the context of recession are the focus and contribution of this thesis: the aim of the research was to compile a theoretical framework to portray the emergence of retail location strategies in recession. The research is underpinned by the theoretical domains of strategic location decision-making under the umbrella of complexity theory. The research comprises two case studies of SME electrical retailers in Greece. Pre-recession, these retailers had established track records of aggressive locational expansion and so the impact of the turbulence that accompanied the Greek recession made them ideal exemplar cases for this study. The data collection comprised observation, informal conversations, key informant interviews and focus groups. A thematic analysis approach was taken to the coding, organisation and reporting of the results. The results demonstrate how strategy development is supported by emerging organisational structures, including informal and opportunistic networks that facilitate the diffusion of tacit and explicit knowledge. These networks provide a friendly and supportive environment in which decision-makers are supported in their development of project-specific schemes. Thus this research contributes to understanding the locational decision process, successful locational strategy and strategic development in periods of instability and confusion