Information Technology and Corporate Strategy: A Research Perspective (original) (raw)
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Linking information technology and corporate strategy: an organizational view
1986
Considerable attention is currently focused on using information technology to obtain and maintain competitive advantage. Numerous mini-cases have been used to illustrate the use of information systems for competitive advantage, and various conceptual frameworks have been proposed to aid in the identification of such applications. Much of this work is grounded in a single concept of strategy formulation, an approach that we refer to as "top-down." A survey of senior information system executives demonstrates the potential problems of relying on a top-down approach. A second, "adaptive" approach, appears to offer potential value for the identification of competitive applications in organizations facing considerable environmental turbulence or in which senior strategists are relatively uninformed about information system resources. Five organizational roles are defined that can help support this adaptive approach.
The Interplay of Strategic Management and Information Technology
Strategic Information Technology and Portfolio Management, 2009
The authors trace historical developments in the fields of information technology (IT) and strategic management. IT's evolution from the mainframe era to the Internet era has been accompanied by a shift in the strategic emphasis of IT. In the early days, IT's contribution to the organization was largely information provision, monitoring and control. Current research at the intersection of IT and strategic management increasingly highlights the impact of IT in terms of informing strategic decisions and enabling information flow vis-à-vis all manner of organizational processes. We believe these fields are ripe for research focusing on their complementary impact on organizational performance.
Facilitators and inhibitors for the strategic use of informationtechnology
Information & Management - INFORM MANAGEMENT, 1994
An empirical study was conducted to determine key factors that facilitate and inhibit the development of strategic applications of information technology (IT) in business firms. A comparison was made between companies that have used IT applications for strategic purposes and companies that have not. The "relative strength" of the factors is also assessed. Differences in perceptions exist between the two groups of firms. Generally, factors internal to the organization and those that reflect perceived needs play a stronger facilitating role than external factors for both groups of firms. However, "Perceived Needs" play a stronger facilitating role for those that have utilized strategic applications. "Internal Factors" play the strongest inhibiting role for both groups. Firms that utilized strategic applications place more emphasis on IT-related issues as important facilitators. Firms that have not done so place more emphasis on management issues.
The manner in which business strategy was formulated ten or even as little as five years ago is no longer applicable. This phenomenon can to a great extent be attributed to a shift in the strategic importance of information and communication technology (ICT). The aim of this article is to supply strategic thinkers with a holistic “bird’s eye view” of the interdependency between strategic management and strategic ICT management. By analysing the different perspectives with regard to strategy formulation from a business point of view as well as an ICT perspective a generic model incorporating ICT strategy formulation with business strategy formulation is developed. Keywords Information communication technology Strategic management Strategy formulation
The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 1994
While discussed extensively, very few studies have attempted to formally integrate the notions of organizational strategy, competitive advantage, and the strategic use of information technology. Utilizing the typology of Miles and Snow, this study attempts to identify the strategic orientation (prospector, analyzer, defender) of widely cited users of 'strategic information technology' before and after the launch of their innovative systems. Also, measures of financial performance are compared between emergent groups in order to determine if any particular strategic orientation consistently outperforms the others. In general, this study reports four findings. First, it appears that strategic users of information technology are not concentrated along a singular strategic dimension. The firms examined in this study exhibited characteristics associated with each of Miles and Snow's strategy types. Second, it seems that many firms shifted strategic orientation after the launch of their systems. Interestingly, these shifts were rather dramatic and seem to represent a fundamental change in strategic direction from earlier 'pre-system' operating philosophies. Third, case descriptions along with narratives of annual reports suggest that usage or competitive intent of these strategic systems matches the prevailing strategic profile of the initiating firms. In other words, the systems seem to support organizational strategy. Finally, it seems that prospectors and defenders realized significantly higher measures of financial performance immediately after the implementation of 'strategic information technology'; however, in the long-term no strategic orientation seemed to outperform the others.
Strategy: an information systems research perspective
The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 1992
The past decade has witnessed the development of a new stream of research, one focused on information systems (IS) and their relation to company strategy and the attainment of competitive advantage. A growing number of IS researchers are turning their attention to investigating questions in the IS/business strategy area. This article is intended to provide an overview of business strategy research findings and recommendations that are especially relevant to IS researchers, focusing on key conceptual and measurement issues in three areas: competitive strategy; strategic fit; and business performance. It may be used as a 'primer' for IS researchers considering conducting research with business strategy as a reference discipline. It also should be of interest to IS academics generally, inasmuch as the relationship between IS and business strategy has become a key issue in this field.
THE EFFECTS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING
Journal of Management Studies, 1995
Information technology (IT) may be defined as computer-based technology for the storage, accessing, processing and communication of information. Many writers have suggested that the use of IT should improve strategic decisions and have developed a number of propositions about the effects of IT on strategic decision making. However, no study has yet addressed the specific effects of IT on major phases of this process. Using Mintzberg, Raisinghani and Theoret's (1976, ‘The structure of unstructured decision processes’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 21, 2, 246–75) strategic decision-making model, this study assessed the effects of IT on the major phases of the process through an intensive examination of eight decisions in four companies. the results of the study provide new information on the specific ways IT improves decision-making efficiency and effectiveness at each stage of the strategic decision process.
The contribution of IT to business performance has been studied from two main perspectives: a 'strategy as positioning perspective,' which underlines a market power imperative, and a resource-based view perspective, which conceptualizes the enterprise as a 'bundle of unique resources.' The objective of the present study is to improve our understanding of the contribution of IT to firm performance in building upon the complementarity between the two perspectives. To do so, a model proposed by [Spanos, Y.E., Lioukas, S. 2001. An examination into the causal logic of rent generation: contrasting Porter's competitive strategy framework and the resource-based perspective. Strategic Management Journal 22(10), 907–934], which comprises both a competitive strategy framework and the resource-based perspective was adapted to reflect the role played by IT. More precisely, the model encapsulates the effects of both IT support for business strategy and IT support for firm assets on firm performance. To test the model, a survey of 96 small-and medium-sized enterprises (SME) was conducted.