Papp, Raymond

Revenaugh, D. Lance

English

AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)

Association for Information SystemsAIS Electronic Library (AISeL)AMCIS 2000 Proceedings Americas Conference on Information Systems(AMCIS)2000Information Systems Strategy & ImplementationD. Lance RevenaughCedarville University, rev@cedarville.eduRaymond PappQuinnipiac University, raymond.papp@quinnipiac.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2000This material is brought to you by the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been acceptedfor inclusion in AMCIS 2000 Proceedings by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contactelibrary@aisnet.org.Recommended CitationRevenaugh, D. Lance and Papp, Raymond, "Information Systems Strategy & Implementation" (2000). AMCIS 2000 Proceedings. 254.http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2000/254 Information Systems Strategy & ImplementationD. Lance Revenaugh, Cedarville University, Rev@Cedarville.eduRaymond Papp, Quinnipiac University, Raymond.Papp@Quinnipiac.eduOne of the leading areas of focus amongexecutives is that of Information Systems (IS) strategiesand their implementation. This mini-track focuses onways in which organizations effectively implement ISstrategies in their organizations. Specifically, what factorsor models can be developed/implemented to measure thesuccess of IS strategies on the organization's productivityand profitability.   So what constitutes a strategicinformation system? For the purpose of this mini-track,we define an information system to be strategic if it isaligned with business goals and strategies and if it has animpact on organizational performance.Traditional methods of developing businessstrategies have failed to take full advantage of technology.In the past, information technology (IT) was typicallytreated as a “cost center” or viewed as an “expense” ratherthan an enabler of business value. Strategic informationsystems shed new light on technology and its role in thedevelopment of business strategies.  It is no longereconomically feasible to treat IT as a lower level supporttool; failure to leverage IT may seriously hamper thefirm’s performance and viability in today’s global,information-intensive world.  The need to integratebusiness strategies with IT goals and objectives toevaluate and assess the level of integration of businessand IT strategy within firms is paramount.  Byconcentrating on the integration of strategy andinfrastructure, firms may not only achieve synergy andfacilitate the development of business plans, but increasethe profitability and efficiency of their firm within itsindustry (Papp, 1998).  These tangible benefits allowmanagement to focus on the application of IT as a meansto leverage their core competencies, skills, andtechnology scope, resulting in improved efficiency.  Themajor reason is to ease the development andimplementation of cohesive organization and IT strategiesthat enable firms to focus on the application of IT toimprove the business.  By understanding and leveragingthe Business/IT partnership, organizations can concentrateon the application of IT to enable the business strategy.This harmony can be extended and applied throughout theorganization as new opportunities are identified.Over the past three decades, billions of dollarshave been invested in information systems andtechnology.  Nevertheless, organizations seem to find itdifficult or impossible to harness the power ofinformation technology for their own long-term benefit,even though there is worldwide evidence (Earl, 1983 &1993; Robson, 1994; King, 1995) that IT has the power totransform whole industries and markets.  Strategicalignment, a method of applying IT in an appropriate andtimely way, in harmony with business strategies, remainsa key concern of business executives (King, 1995;Henderson and Venkatraman, 1990 & 1996; Earl, 1983 &1993; Luftman, 1993 & 1996; Goff, 1993; Liebs, 1992;Watson & Brancheau, 1991).  In fact, alignment’simportance has been well known and documented sincethe late 1970's (McLean & Soden, 1977; IBM BSP, 1981;Mills, 1986; Brancheau & Wetherbe, 1987; Dixon &John, 1991; Niederman, et. al., 1991; Earl, 1983 &1993).This classification has continued as indicated via itspersistent top ranking in the business press by executives.Alignment seems to grow in importance as companiesstrive to link technology and business in light of dynamicbusiness strategies and continuously evolvingtechnologies (Papp, 1995).  Importance aside, what is notclear is how to achieve this harmony between businessand IT, and what the impact of misalignment might be onthe firm (Papp & Luftman, 1995).  The ability to achieveand maintain this synergistic relationship is anything buteasy.  For years, firms have been channeling billions ofdollars into technology in an attempt to successfullyincorporate technology into their processes and long-termplans.  Many of these efforts have failed despiteoverwhelming evidence of IT’s ability to transform bothindividual firms and entire industries.  The alignment of information technology (IT)and business strategy to leverage the capabilities of ITand to transform the business has increased in importanceover the past few years, as firms strive for competitiveadvantage in a diverse and changing marketplace(Faltermayer, 1994; Adcock, Helms, & Wen-Jang, 1993;Cardinali, 1992).  In light of this, there has been a greatdeal of research and insight into the linkages betweenBusiness and IT (Chan & Huff, 1993; Luftman, 1996;Earl, 1993; Henderson, Thomas & Venkatraman, 1992),the role of partnerships between IT and businessmanagement (Keen, 1996; Ives, Jarvenpaa, & Mason,1993), as well as the need to understand thetransformation of business strategies resulting from thecompetitive use of IT (Boynton, Victor, & Pine, 1996;Davidson, 1996).  Firms have been able to change notonly their business scope, but also their infrastructure as aresult of innovation regarding IT (Keen, 1991; Foster,1986).1149Strategic alignment and IS strategyimplementation sheds new light on IT and its role in thedevelopment of business strategies. It considers thestrategic fit between strategy and infrastructure as well asthe functional integration between business and IT.  Byfocusing on business and IT, strategic alignmentaddresses both strategy and infrastructure elements acrossthe organization (Henderson & Venkatraman, 1996; Papp,1998; Luftman, Papp & Brier, 1995).  Severalframeworks have been proposed to assess the strategicissues regarding the role of IT as a competitive weapon.There have also been numerous studies that focus onbusiness process redesign and reengineering (Rockart &Short, 1989; Davenport & Short, 1990; Hammer &Champy, 1993; Hammer & Stanton, 1995) as a means toachieve competitive advantage with IT.  This advantagecomes from the appropriate application of IT as a driveror enabler of business strategy.Thus, strategic IS encompass many areas andtechnologies that are used by organizations to leveragetheir use of technology for increased productivity andcompetitive advantage.  Numerous frameworks, plans,and strategies are used to facilitate the integration ofbusiness and technology strategies.  The series of papersin this mini-track focus on many of these issues andthrough applied research, case studies, and empiricalinvestigation, provide managers and academics withinsights into the development and implementation ofinformation systems strategy.Additional Resources & InformationStrategic Information Systems WebsitesISWORLD's (http://www.isworld.org)Strategic IS page(http://www.fba.nus.edu.sg/isworld/isw_sis.htm)Upcoming ConferencesIRMA 2001 (http://www.irma-international.org/call2001.htm) in Toronto, Canada 5/20 -5/23/01Eleventh Australasian Conference onInformation Systems (ACIS)(http://www.cmit.org/acis2000/conference.htm), Brisbane, Australia, 6-8December 2000Twenty First Annual InternationalConference on Information Systems(ICIS)(http://www.sims.monash.edu.au/icis2000), Brisbane, Australia, 10-13December 2000.15th Annual Conference of theInternational Academy for InformationManagement (IAIM),(http://www.iaim.org/iaim00.html)Brisbane, Australia, 8-10 December,2000.ReferencesAdcock, K., Helms, M., & Wen-Jang, K.  (1993).Information Technology: Can it provide asustainable competitive advantage?  InformationStrategy: The Executive's Journal, (Spring), 10-15.Alter A. (1995).  “The Profit Center Paradox,”Computerworld, (April 24), 101-105.Boynton, A., Victor, B., & Pine II, B. (1996).  AligningIT With New Competitive Strategies,  Competing inthe Information Age, Luftman, New York, OxfordUniversity Press.Brancheau, J., & Wetherbe, J. (1987).  Issues InInformation Systems Management, MIS Quarterly,11(1), 23-45.Cardinali, R. (1992). Information Systems--A KeyIngredient To Achieving OrganizationalCompetitive Strategy, Computers in Industry, 18,241-45.Chan, Y., & Huff, S. (1993).  Strategic InformationSystems Alignment,  Business Quarterly, 58(1), 51-56.Davenport, T., & Short, J. (1990).  The New IndustrialEngineering: Information Technology and BusinessProcess Redesign, Sloan Management Review, 11-27.Davidson, W. (1993).  Managing the BusinessTransformation Process, Competing in theInformation Age, Luftman, New York, OxfordUniversity Press.Dixon, P., & John, D. (1989).  Technology Issues FacingCorporate Management in the 1990s, MIS Quarterly,13(3), 247-55.Earl, Michael J. (1983). Corporate Information SystemsManagement, Homewood, Illinois, Richard D.Irwin, Inc.1150Earl, Michael J (1993). Experience in StrategicInformation Systems Planning, MIS Quarterly,17(1), 1-24.Faltermayer, E. (1994).  Competitiveness: How USCompanies Stack Up Now, Fortune, 129(8), (April18), 52-64.Foster, R. (1986). Innovation: The Attacker's Advantage,New York: Summit Books.Goff, L. (1993).  You Say Tomayto, I Say Tomahto,Computerworld, (Nov. 1), 129.Hammer, M., & Champy, J. (1993).  Reengineering theCorporation: A Manifesto For Business Revolution,New York: Harper Business.Hammer, M., & Stanton, S. (1995).  The ReengineeringRevolution, New York: Harper Business.Henderson, J., Thomas, J., & Venkatraman, N. (1992).Making Sense Of IT: Strategic Alignment andOrganizational Context, Working Paper 3475-92BPS, Sloan School of Management, MassachusettsInstitute of Technology.Henderson, J., & Venkatraman, N. (1990).  StrategicAlignment: A model For OrganizationalTransformation Via Information Technology,Working Paper 3223-90, Sloan School ofManagement, Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology.Henderson, J., & Venkatraman, N. (1996).  AligningBusiness and IT Strategies, Competing in theInformation Age, Luftman, New York, OxfordUniversity Press.IBM (1981).  Business Systems Planning, PlanningGuide, GE20-0527, IBM Corporation, 1133Westchester Ave, White Plains, New York.Ives, B., Jarvenpaa, S., & Mason, R. (1993).  GlobalBusiness Drivers: Aligning Information TechnologyTo Global Business Strategy, IBM Systems Journal,32(1), 143-161.Keen, P. (1996).  Do You Need An IT Strategy?Competing in the Information Age, Luftman, NewYork, Oxford University Press.Keen, P. (1991).  Shaping the Future, Boston, MA:Harvard Business School Press.King, J. (1995)  Re-engineering Focus Slips,Computerworld, (March 13), 6.Liebs, S. (1992).  We're All In This Together, InformationWeek, (October 26), 8.Luftman, J. (1997). Align in the Sand, ComputerworldLeadership Series, (February 17), 1-11.Luftman, J.  (1996). Competing in the Information Age:Practical Applications of the Strategic AlignmentModel, New York: Oxford University Press.Luftman, J., Lewis, P., & Oldach, S. (1993).Transforming the Enterprise: The Alignment ofBusiness and Information Technology Strategies,IBM Systems Journal, 32(1), 198-221.Luftman, J., Papp, R., & Brier. T. (1995).  The StrategicAlignment Model: Assessment and Validation, InProceedings of the Information TechnologyManagement Group of the Association ofManagement (AoM) 13th Annual InternationalConference, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,August 2-5, 1995, 57-66.McLean, E., & Soden, J., (1977). Strategic Planning forMIS, New York, John Wiley & Sons,Mills, P., (1986), Managing Service Industries, New YorkBallinger.Niederman, F., Brancheau, J., & Wetherbe, J. (1991).Information Systems Management Issues For the1990s, MIS Quarterly, 15(4), 475-95.Papp, R. (1998). "Alignment of Business and InformationTechnology Strategy: How and Why", InformationManagement, 11, #3/4).Papp, R. (1995). Determinants of Strategically AlignedOrganizations: A Multi-industry, Multi-perspectiveAnalysis, (Dissertation), Stevens Institute ofTechnology, Hoboken, New Jersey.Papp, R., & Luftman, J. (1995). Business and IT StrategicAlignment: New Perspectives and Assessments, InProceedings of the Association for InformationSystems, Inaugural Americas Conference onInformation Systems, Pittsburgh, PA, August 25-27,1995.Robson, W. (1994).  Strategic Management andInformation Systems: An Integrated Approach,London,, Pitman Publishing.Rockart, J., & Short, J. (1989).  IT in the 1990's:Managing Organizational Interdependence, SloanManagement Review, 30(2), 7-17.1151Watson, R., & Brancheau, J. (1991).  Key Issues InInformation Systems Management: An InternationalPerspective, Information & Management, 20, 213-23.Further ReadingEarl, Michael J. Corporate Information SystemsManagement, Homewood, Illinois, Richard D.Irwin, Inc., 1983.Evans, P., & Wurster, T.  Blown to Bits: How the neweconomics of information transforms strategy,Cambridge, MA:  Harvard Business School Press,2000.Luftman, J.  Competing in the Information Age: PracticalApplications of the Strategic Alignment Model, NewYork: Oxford University Press, 1996.Papp, R. Strategic Information Technology: Opportunitiesfor Competitive Advantage, Hershey, PA: IdeaGroup Publishing, 2000 (forthcoming).Papp, R., "Business - IT Alignment: Productivity ParadoxPayoff?", Industrial Management & Data Systems,99, Issue 8, 1999.Papp, R. "Achieving Business and IT Alignment",Effective Utilization and Management of EmergingInformation Technologies, Idea Group Publishing,May 1998.Luftman, J., Papp, R., & Brier, T., "Enablers andInhibitors of Business-IT Alignment",Communications of the AIS, 1, Article 11, March,1999.Robson, W. Strategic Management and InformationSystems: An Integrated Approach, London, PitmanPublishing, 1994.1152

Information Systems Strategy & Implementation

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