Carine Dominguez

Inter-organisational alignment to enhance information technology (IT) driven services innovation in a supply chain: the case of radio frequency identification (RFID)

Firms cannot be competitive if their information systems (ISs) and business strategies are not aligned. The strategic alignment model (SAM) developed by Henderson and Venkatraman (Strategic alignment: leveraging information technology (IT) for transforming organizations. IBM Systems Journal, 38 (2/3), 472–484.) considers strategic alignment as a stand-alone challenge between a company and its IS. This concern of alignment has not been empirically extended to the inter-organisational level. This research raises the question of inter-organisational alignment and follows how companies, embedded in a supply chain (SC), adapt their ISs and organisations while implementing IT-driven innovation. We conducted a case study on a radio frequency identification (RFID) project in a jewellery SC. This SC is made of a middle-sized retailer (MSR), composed of headquarters and 80 stores, and one single supplier, a logistic service provider (LSP). By combining an RFID project framework and the SAM, this study provides some answers to the dynamics of alignment and highlights various sequences according to the different phases of the project. Through a single case study, this article finally proposes to extend the alignment perspectives of the SAM to the inter-organisational level.

Value Creation in Collaborative Networks: The Case of RFiD Implementation

In this article, we question the way CNs are built around the imple- mentation of RFiD in a supply chain and what are the value creation logics among these CNs. We address three main questions: the way and types of CNs in a RFiD implementation project, the nature of the aggregator and value crea- tion of each actor during the different phases of the project and finally the inter- connections between CNs in the value creation logic. We provide answers to theses questions based on a case study that describes the implementation of the RFiD innovative technology in a jewellery supply chain.