Strategic Alignment Between Business and Information Technology: A Knowledge-Based View of Behaviors, Outcome, and Consequences.

Author List: KEARNS, GROVER S.; Sabherwal, Rajiv;
Journal of Management Information Systems, 2006, Volume 23, Issue 3, Page 129-162.
Senior executives continue to be concerned about factors influencing the business effect of information technology (IT). Prior research has argued that business--IT strategic alignment facilitates business effect of IT and that contextual factors affect business--IT alignment. However, the role of knowledge considerations in the relationship between contextual factors and alignment, and the role of IT projects in the relationship between alignment and business effects of IT, have not been explicitly examined. Therefore, this paper pursues the following two research questions: (1) Based on knowledge considerations, how do planning behaviors (specifically, IT managers' participation in business planning and business managers' participation in IT planning) and top management knowledge of IT mediate the effects of two contextual factors--organizational emphasis on knowledge management and centralization of IT decisions--on business--IT strategic alignment? (2) How do aspects of IT projects (specifically, quality of IT project planning and implementation problems in IT projects) mediate the relationship between business--IT strategic alignment and business effects of IT? Results from a survey of 274 senior information officers indicate that organizational emphasis on knowledge management and centralization of IT decisions affect top managers' knowledge of IT, which facilitates business managers' participation in strategic IT planning and IT managers' participation in business planning, and both of these planning behaviors affect business--IT strategic alignment. Moreover, the results indicate that quality of IT project planning and implementation problems in IT projects mediate the relationship between business--IT strategic alignment and business effect of IT. These findings highlight the importance of considering the planning and implementation of IT projects when examining the effects of business--IT strategic alignment, and highlight the importance of considering...
Keywords: business effect of information technology;business-IT strategic alignment;information technology planning;IT project planning;knowledge management
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List of Topics

#229 0.339 alignment strategic business strategy performance technology value organizational orientation relationship information misalignment matched goals perspective fit firms executives argue need
#198 0.127 factors success information critical management implementation study factor successful systems support quality variables related results key model csf importance determinants
#166 0.092 negative positive effect findings results effects blog suggest role blogs posts examined period relationship employees research employee bloggers reveal companies
#78 0.085 planning strategic process management plan operational implementation critical used tactical effectiveness number identified activities years effective developed issues empirical plans
#88 0.082 managers managerial manager decisions study middle use important manager's appropriate importance context organizations indicate field experience management major organizational results
#53 0.068 knowledge application management domain processes kms systems study different use domains role comprehension effective types draw scope furthermore level levels
#135 0.067 project projects development management isd results process team developed managers teams software stakeholders successful complex develop contingencies problems greater planning
#269 0.065 participation activities different roles projects examined outcomes level benefits conditions key importance isd suggest situations contextual furthermore benefit levels focus