In recent years, chief information officers have begun to report exponential increases in the amounts of raw data captured and retained across the organization. Managing extreme amounts of data can be complex and challenging at a time when information is increasingly viewed as a strategic resource. Since the dominant focus of the information technology (IT) governance literature has been on how firms govern physical IT artifacts (hardware, software, networks), the goal of this study is to extend the theory of IT governance by uncovering the structures and practices used to govern information artifacts. Through detailed interviews with 37 executives in 30 organizations across 17 industries, we discover a range of structural, procedural, and relational practices used to govern information within a nomological net that includes the antecedents of these practices and their effects on firm performance. While some antecedents enable the speedy adoption of information governance, others can delay or limit the adoption of information governance practices. Once adopted, however, information governance can help to boost firm performance. By incorporating these results into an extended theory of IT governance, we note how information governance practices can unlock value from the ever-expanding mountains of data currently held within organizations.
This paper reports on early results from case study research into the relationship between business process reengineering (BPR) and strategic planning. First a framework for analysis is proposed based on the concept of alignment. This "process alignment model" comprises four lenses of enquiry: process, strategy, information systems. and change management and control. Four case studies are then described, selected from a wider sample to demonstrate variation across the four domains. A taxonomy of strategies for BPR is derived from the case studies. This taxonomy suggests a richer variety of BPR practice than has been documented to date and provides an opportunity and platform for further research.
This paper is organized around two research questions and three issue areas in business reengineering. We address: (1) To what extent does environmental volatility affect the rate of accumulation or decay of critical firm assets? and (2) How can expertise and information related assets be operationalized in the context of process-based ("radical") organizational restructuring? With respect to business reengineering, we address: (1) How can differing needs for process reengineering projects be characterized? (2) To what extent does organizational resistance to reengineering projects differ by categories of need? and (3) To what extent are failure rates experienced by reengineering practitioners traceable to lack of alignment between project needs, planning agendas, and dominant modes of organizational resistance? We develop an explanatory framework based on two constructs, expertise half-life and information half-life, and apply these to help analyze current practices in business reengineering. We posit that under certain conditions high project failure rates are associated with weak coupling between reengineering project objectives and the firm's general business and information systems planning agendas. Under other conditions, this weak coupling is associated with successful projects. We conclude with recommendations for methodological approaches and suggested research extensions.
In mid-1987, Baxter Healthcare Corporation undertook a major IS strategic planning study on the heels of the company's merger with American Hospital Supply. Central to this planning effort was the building of a new level of partnership between business and IS managers in the new corporation. This article describes Baxter's seven-month planning effort and the role of this effort in building the partnership. Two specific planning behaviors are noted for their contribution: dual purpose executive interviews, designed to both elicit information and provide a basis for executive understanding of planning options; and "micro" and "macro" analysis templates, which served to focus and clarify planning activities and options at both local and global levels within the firm. Several key components in effective partnership -- shared knowledge, shared commitment, and shared decision making -- were therefore encouraged and supported by this approach.