This paper draws upon the absorptive capacity as the theoretical basis for a pragmatic explanation of key factors affecting information technology (IT) use in large, complex organizations. IT use is defined as the extent to which an organization deploys IT to support operational and strategic tasks. The study uses results from a survey of senior IT managers from 132 firms to examine hypothesized relationships among the following constructs: IT management climate, managerial IT knowledge, IT-management- process effectiveness, and IT use. A structural-equation model is developed using LISREL to assess the relative effects of and interrelationships among these constructs. The study's findings indicate that managerial IT knowledge is a dominant factor in explaining high levels of IT use and that both managerial IT knowledge and IT-management-process effectiveness are influenced by IT management climate.
This article addresses how information systems architecture can be used to support organizations in the 1990sorganizations that face the dual challenge of "speed and flexibility" and "low cost and efficiency." At the heart of this challenge is the basic notion that information systems have been anything but flexible in the past and that, for many firms, information systems are more disablers of flexibility than enablers. The article discusses two architectural solutions to this problem: "the high road and the low road," and the benefits and pitfalls of each. We conclude that neither solution will succeed on its own and that firms need to combine elements of both to meet the challenges of the 1990s. This article is based on some of the things we have learned through research, case writing, and consulting while working with a variety of organizations over the past three years. These experiences have illustrated the importance of and the struggle with IS architecture for today's global competitors. The content is intended to help guide, provoke, stimulate, and entertain others who believe that the integration of information technology with organizational strategy and structure is of paramount concern to senior managers.
Although planning is a crucial information management issue, it must be seen as only one facet of an organization's complete program for information technology management. Attention in this article is first directed toward understanding the larger management context within which planning activities are likely to transpire. The paper then describes a view of planning appropriate for the 1990's and identifies contributions from the information technology (IT) planning literature likely to facilitate IT planning efforts.