Assessing strategic alignment to improve IT effectiveness (original) (raw)
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Developing a Tool to Enhance Strategic Alignment Towards Business Performance
Enterprise IT Governance, Business Value and Performance Measurement, 2011
The starting point of both the I-Fit project and this chapter is the well known Strategic Alignment Model (Henderson & Venkatraman, 1991; Benson & Parker, 1987). Strategic alignment, or 'business-IT alignment', intends to support the integration of IT into business strategy. The classic 'Strategic Alignment Model' distinguishes between the business domain (business strategy and business processes) and the technology do-aBstRaCt This document summarizes the initial findings of a research project started in August 2006 on IT-Business alignment. The main goal of this I-Fit project is to develop tools to improve alignment between business and IT in companies. The I-Fit project takes the perspective of the business manager: how a business manager can influence and increase the value of the IT services that he receives. Based on the literature on strategic alignment and information quality, we develop the I-Fit model. The model assumes causal relationships between 'IT governance', 'Strategic Alignment, 'Information Quality', and 'Business Performance' in an organization, as shown in the paper. This model has been used to develop a Quickscan questionnaire to use as a tool to pinpoint areas of concern regarding alignment in a company. The tool was tested and validated, demonstrating that the approach taken is valid and deserves further pursuit.
Strategic Business and It Alignment : Representation and Evaluation
2013
Nowadays, business IT alignment has become a priority in most large organization. It is a question of aligning the information system on the business strategies of the organization. This step is aimed at increasing the practical value of the information system and makes it a strategic asset for the organization. Many works showed the importance of documentation, the analysis and the evaluation of business IT alignment, but few proposed solutions applicable to the strategic and functional level. This paper aims has to fill this gap by proposing a simple approach for modeling and evaluate enterprise strategy in the context of strategic alignment. This approach is illustrated by case study of a real project in a Moroccan public administration.
Information Technology (IT) is often viewed as a resource that is capable of enhancing organizational performance. However, it is difficult for organizations to measure the actual contribution of IT investments. Despite an abundance of literature, there is an insufficiency of generally applicable frameworks and instruments to help organizations definitively assess the relationship among organizational performance, ITbusiness alignment, and IT governance. Previous studies have emphasized IT-business alignment as an important enabler of organizational effectiveness; however, the direct and indirect effects of IT governance have not been incorporated into these studies.
Reviewing Business-IT Alignment Instruments Under SAM Dimensions
International Journal of Information Communication Technologies and Human Development, 2013
Business-IT alignment has been on the top of the concerns of IT executives for many years and how to assess it has been under research. Among many proposals, one of the best known and cited in the literature, showing some relevant empirical work, is the Luftman's Strategic Alignment Maturity (SAM) categories assessment. Taking it as a framework, seven other proposals are examined using SAM categories as dimensions of business-IT alignment: communications, competency/value measurements, governance, partnership, technology scope and skills. Except for one proposal revealing a tactical level approach, this review shows that business-IT alignment assessment has been studied essentially at the strategic level. Among the examined dimensions across the several proposals, governance is the best covered one while the human resource skills dimension is considerably neglected. Having still room for improvements, either in the governance or the technology scope dimensions, the SAM assessment seems a well balanced instrument. The empirical work already found on SAM provides a good starting point to get an acceptable validated instrument. However, if in terms of content validity, SAM is one of the most promising instruments, there is still much work to do on what concerns its operationalization. Future research should strive for a rigorous, strong instrument on every component of construct validity, namely, the convergent, discriminant and nomological components.
Strategic Business and IT Alignment: A Prioritized Theory Diagram
2006 Technology Management for the Global Future - PICMET 2006 Conference, 2006
Many academic and practitioners' studies have shown that misalignment or lack of alignment between information technology (IT) and business strategies is one of the main reasons why enterprises fail to exploit the full potential of their IT investments. Furthermore, organizations that have accomplished a high degree of alignment are often associated with better business efficiency and effectiveness performance. Consequently, strategic business and IT alignment (SBITA) has consistently been one of the top concerns of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in an enterprise. Despite these facts, there is little consensus on what SBITA really is; there are few documented theories, concepts and operational approaches for identifying, measuring, improving and maintaining the SBITA level in an enterprise. This paper is based on the strategic alignment model (SAM) proposed by Henderson & Venkatraman in 1993, which is considered one of the most widespread and accepted models among the alignment community. Basically, all later alignment models and consulting practices start from this model. The SAM consists of a set of alignment sub-topics presented partially in figure # 3, which have been used for prioritizing the SBITA topic. An extensive literature survey has been carried out and the most relevant and cited references in the field have been categorized according to the sub-topics of the SAM. Doing so provided an indication of how important the alignment community finds the different aspects of SBITA.
Impact of information technology governance structures on strategic alignment
2013
This dissertation is a study of the relationship between Information Technology (IT) strategic alignment and IT governance structure within the organization. This dissertation replicates Asante (2010) among a different population where the prior results continue to hold, the non-experimental approach explored two research questions but include two moderating variables industry type and organization size. The model used in this study was Luftman (2003) Strategic Alignment Model (SAM) which was validated through previous research. This research used web-based surveys to collect the data from multiple organizations which include IT executives and managers, and addresses the missing link between IT governance and strategic alignment of different industries. The sampling frame were about 3000 business professionals from medium and large sized companies in the United States of which 138 responded in the time allotted for data collection. The study tested four hypotheses which were measured using statistical correlation including Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Mann-Whitney U test and logistics regression. The study finds that there is not significant relationship between IT strategic alignment and levels of IT governance structure and federal IT governance structure within the organization.
Strategic Information Systems Alignment: Alignment of IS/IT with Business Strategy
Using information systems effectively requires an understanding of the organisation, management, and the technology shaping the systems. All information systems can be described as organisational and management solutions to challenges posed by the environment. The advances in information systems have affect on our day-to day lives . As the technology is evolving immensely so are the opportunities in a healthy way to prepare the organisation in the competitive advantage environment In order to manage the IS/IT based systems, it is important to have an appropriate strategy that defines the systems and provide means to manage them. Strategic Information Systems Alignment (SISA) is an effective way of developing and maintaining the IS/IT systems that support the business operations. Alignment of the IS/IT plans and the business plans is essential for improved business performance, this research looks at the key features of SISA in the changing business circumstances in Saudi Arabia.
2014
The dynamic nature of IS alignment has been recognised in literature, nevertheless most empirical studies still focus on the relationships between business and IS at strategic level. Building on previously identified IS alignment factors (IT governance, IT value, communication, partnership, scope and architecture, human resources skills) this study incorporates an empirical investigation in a large insurance organisation that examines the relationships between business and IS across different organisational levels. By measuring the level of IS alignment of five strategic projects the impact of the factors affecting IS alignment is analysed. As previously reported IT governance was found to be the most relevant factor when high levels of IS alignment are obtained. However, by examining the variations of IS alignment for each project common areas of low IS alignment were identified: understanding of IT by business, balance metrics, budgetary control and share goals, risk and rewards. ...
Strategic alignment: a model for organizational transformation through information technology
1992
This paper develops a model for research and practice of strategic management of information technology. The model, termed the Strategic Alignment Model, is defined in terms of four domains of strategic choice: business strategy; information technology strategy; organization infrastructure and processes; and information technology infrastructure and processes --each with its constituent dimensions. The model is conceptualized in terms of two fundamental characteristics of strategic management: strategic fit (i.e., the interrelationships between external and internal domains) and functional integration (i.e., integration between business and functional domains). A set of propositions is developed based on this model with implications for research and management practice.
Strategic alignment: Leveraging information technology for transforming organizations
traditional orientation of administrative support toward a more strategic role within an organization, there is still a glaring lack of fundamental frameworks within which to understand the potential of 1fT for tomorrow's organizations. In this paper, we develop a model for conceptualizing and directing the emerging area of strategic management of information technology. This model, termed the Strategic Alignment Model, Is defined In terms of four fundamental domains of strategic choice: business strategy, information technology strategy, organizational infrastructure and processes, and Information technology Infrastructure and processes-each with Its own underlying dimensions. We illustrate the power of this model in terms of two fundamental characteristics of strategic management: strategic fit (the interrelationships between extemal and Intemal components) and functional Integration (integration between business and functional domains). More specifically, we derive four perspectives of alignment with specific implications for guiding management practice in this Important area.