Yolande E. Chan

Business Strategic Orientation, Information Systems Strategic Orientation, and Strategic Alignment

Information systems strategic alignment---the fit between business strategic orientation and information systems (IS) strategic orientation---is an important concept. This study measured business strategic orientation, IS strategic orientation, and IS strategic alignment, and investigated their implications for perceived IS effectiveness and business performance. Analyses of data gathered in a mail survey of North American financial services and manufacturing firms indicated that 1) business strategic orientation, IS strategic orientation, and IS strategic alignment are modeled best by utilizing holistic, ‘systems’ approaches instead of dimension-specific, ‘bivariate’ approaches, 2) three generic IS strategic orientations can be detected, 3) user information satisfaction does not capture important strategic aspects of IS effectiveness, 4) IS strategic alignment is a better predictor of IS effectiveness than is strategic orientation, and 5) business strategic orientation, IS strategic alignment, and IS effectiveness have positive impacts on business performance.

Alignment Between Business and IS Strategies: A Study of Prospectors, Analyzers, and Defenders

Alignment between business strategy and IS strategy is widely believed to improve business performance. This paper examines the impact of alignment on perceived business performance using Miles and Snows popular classification of Defender, Analyzer, and Prospector business strategies. A priori theoretical profiles for these business strategies are developed using Venkatramans (1989a) measure of business strategy. Theoretical profiles for IS strategies are developed in terms of four types of systems--operational support systems, market information systems, strategic decision-support systems, and interorganizational systems. Empirical data from two multirespondent surveys of 164 and 62 companies, respectively, are analyzed. Results indicate that alignment affects perceived business performance but only insome organizations. Alignment seems to influence overall business success in Prospectors and Analyzers but not in Defenders. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

IT ALIGNMENT: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

We provide a review of the alignment literature in IT, addressing questions such as: What have we learned? What is disputed? Who are contributors to the debate? The article is intended to be useful to faculty and graduate students considering conducting research on alignment, instructors preparing lectures, and practitioners seeking to assess the ‘state-of-play’. It is both informational and provocative. Challenges to the value of alignment research, divergent views, and new perspectives on alignment are presented. It is hoped that the article will spark helpful conversation on the merits of continued investigation of IT alignment.

Antecedents and outcomes of strategic IS alignment: an empirical investigation

Prior research argues that alignment between business and information systems (IS) strategies enhances organizational performance. However, factors affecting alignment have received relatively little empirical attention. Moreover, IS strategic alignment is assumed to facilitate the performance of all organizations, regardless of type or business strategy. By using two studies of business firms and academic institutions, this paper: 1) develops and tests a model relating alignment, its antecedents, and its consequences and 2) examines differences in these relationships across organizational types and strategies. Findings indicate that alignment depends on shared domain knowledge and prior IS success, and also support the expected positive impact of alignment on organizational performance. Differences across Prospector, Analyzer, and Defender business strategies are examined. A key research contribution is the empirical demonstration that the importance of alignment, as well as the mechanisms used to attain alignment, vary by business strategy and industry. In past alignment studies, controlling for industry has not been uncommon. The findings suggest that future research studies should also control for business strategy. The article also empirically demonstrates that past implementation success influences alignment. In addition, it highlights the influence of a process variable, strategic planning, on the development of shared knowledge and, consequently, on alignment. This paper examines strategic issues related to the management of technology. Data from multiple surveys are used to test the extent to which strategic planning, shared business-IS knowledge, prior IS success, and other variables consistently enhance IS alignment. The study also provides empirical support for the popular argument that IS alignment improves organizational performance. It extends the current literature by examining the extent to which these findings hold across firm strategies and industries. The authors argue that not all firms are equally well served by allocating scarce resources to improve IS alignment.

Knowledge sharing in a multi-cultural setting: a case study

Organizational culture has been shown to influence the success of knowledge management practices. Hofstedes theory specifies that organizational culture is not independent of national culture. A case study of an international subsidiary was conducted to explore the extent to which knowledge sharing is dependent on national culture. Results indicate that language differences can create knowledge blocks, and cross-cultural differences can explain the direction of knowledge flows.

A Delphi study of knowledge management systems: Scope and requirements

We empirically explored the roles and scope of knowledge management systems in organizations. Building on a knowledge-based view of the firm, we hypothesized and empirically tested our belief that more integration is needed between technologies intended to support knowledge and those supporting business operations. Findings from a Delphi study and in-depth interviews illustrated this and led us to suggest a revised approach to developing organizational knowledge management systems.

IT alignment: an annotated bibliography

We provide summaries of over 150 alignment articles. The information is intended to assist faculty and graduate students who are conducting IT alignment-related research. The findings presented should interest practitioners also. We hope that the article will facilitate the ongoing study and practice of IT alignment.

Exploring the role of customer relationship management (CRM) systems in customer knowledge creation

This study explores how customer relationship management (CRM) systems support customer knowledge creation processes [48], including socialization, externalization, combination and internalization. CRM systems are categorized as collaborative, operational and analytical. An analysis of CRM applications in three organizations reveals that analytical systems strongly support the combination process. Collaborative systems provide the greatest support for externalization. Operational systems facilitate socialization with customers, while collaborative systems are used for socialization within an organization. Collaborative and analytical systems both support the internalization process by providing learning opportunities. Three-way interactions among CRM systems, types of customer knowledge, and knowledge creation processes are explored.

The use of spreadsheets in organizations: determinants and consequences

Abstract Spreadsheets have long been recognized as important tools for end-user computing. This research explores their use within business organizations. A survey was carried out to investigate the relationships among tasks, spreadsheet proficiency, usage, and satisfaction. The results suggested that the spreadsheet proficiency can have a greater impact on the tasks than the task can have on the spreadsheet proficiency. It was also found that spreadsheet users often do not use many of the commonly available spreadsheet features, and they do not appear inclined to use other software packages for their tasks, even if these packages might be more suitable. The proficiency of the spreadsheet users was not found to be related to the importance of the decisions being taken as a result of the spreadsheet analyses.

Assessing realized information systems strategy

Abstract This research developed and validated a tool to measure realized information systems strategy or existing uses of information technology in organizations. It was recognized that intended uses of technology often differ from actual uses. The objective of the study was to determine a valid and reliable way of quantifying how information technology is actually used by organizations to provide support for business operations.