THE PENCIL-LESS ARCHITECT\u27S OFFICE: A 66DEVIANT CASE STUDY OF THE DYNAMICS OF STRATEGIC CHANGE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The dominant view in the information technology (IT) strategy literature implicitly or explicitly incorporates a normative model of dynamic alignment in which business strategy is seen as the primary driver of strategic adaptation. This paper describes and analyzes a case study of the strategic application of IT where success emerged via a different process. As well as providing evidence of a path to strategic fit that is rarely discussed in the literature, the case points to mastery and the management of risk as critical factors in the process of IT-based strategic change

Stretch goals and the distribution of organizational performance

Many academics, consultants, and managers advocate stretch goals to attain superior organizational performance. However, existing theory speculates that, although stretch goals may benefit some organizations, they are not a “rule for riches” for all organizations. To address this speculation, we use two experimental studies to explore the effects on the mean, median, variance, and skewness of performance of stretch compared with moderate goals. Participants were assigned moderate or stretch goals to manage a widely used business simulation. Compared with moderate goals, stretch goals improve performance for a few participants, but many abandon the stretch goals in favor of lower self-set goals, or adopt a survival goal when faced with the threat of bankruptcy. Consequently, stretch goals generate higher performance variance across organizations and a right-skewed performance distribution. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find no positive stretch goal main effect on performance. Instead, stretch goals compared with moderate goals generate large attainment discrepancies that increase willingness to take risks, undermine goal commitment, and generate lower risk-adjusted performance. The results provide a richer theoretical and empirical appreciation of how stretch goals influence performance

WHY PROJECT PERFORMANCE VARIES: A CAPABILITY-BASED EXPLANATION

Project performance is a continuing issue in research and practice. As an operational and strategic enabler in organisations, Information Systems is challenged by business value creation being undermined by inconsistent and often poor project outcomes. This theory development paper revisits the issue by proposing a different lens. In contrast to the dominant approaches of identifying critical success/failure/risk factors and developing better processes, it highlights the importance of having the right capabilities to deliver projects and how capabilities can be diminished or undermined by common conditions that can arise in projects, leading to underperformance. Drawing on theory from the management literature, a capabilities-based model of project performance is proposed. The model includes drivers for both project performance and underperformance such that the outcome of any one project is the contested result of these opposing effects on the capabilities available to the project, thu