PRACTICAL FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING AND IMPLEMENTING INFORMATION SYSTEM ALIGNMENT IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES’ ORGANIZATIONS

Year 2014, Volume: 6 Issue: 1, 54 - 65, 01.06.2014

Sulaiman Alobaidly David Wainwright Teresa Waring

Abstract

The alignment between Information System (IS) and strategic planning is one of
the most significant areas of concern on the priority list of business IT issues, as
well as in the management field. IS alignment has persisted as a one of the top
concerns for IT managers for almost 30 years, and has been the first- or secondmost
importance in the last eight years. However, recent studies have shown that
organizations are struggling to address alignment challenges. The literature does
not provide clear and practical guidance on how to implement success integration
between IS and business strategy, and does not identify the requirements for
achieving, maintaining and diagnosing challenges that hinder a sustaining
alignment.
This paper focuses particularly on the development of a framework to manage
Information System alignment in such a way as to achieve organizational
efficiency and effectiveness.

Keywords

Information System Alignment, Strategic Planning, Information Technology.

References

• AL MAJALI, D. & DAHLIN, Z. 2010. DIAGNOSING THE GAP IN IT - BUSINESS STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS AMONG PUBLIC SHAREHOLDING FIRMS IN JORDAN. international Journal of Electronic Business Management, 8, 263-271.
• ALDHMOUR, F. & SHANNAK, R. 2009. The Effective Utilization of Information and Communication Technology and its Impact on Competitive Advantage. European Journal of Scientific Research, 29, 302-314.
• ALFAOURI, A. 2004. The impact of organizational silence on the participation in decision making: Case study – Mutah University. In Arabic language. Journal of Mutah libohoth wa Alderasat, 19, 151-188.
• ALMAJALI, D. & DAHLIN, Z. 2010. DIAGNOSING THE GAP IN IT - BUSINESS STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS AMONG PUBLIC SHAREHOLDING FIRMS IN JORDAN. International Journal of Electronic Business Management, 8, 263-271.
• ALTER, A. 1995. The profit center paradox. Computerworld, 24, 101-105. ALTER, A. 2007. CIOs Rank Their Top http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Research/CIOs-Rank-Their-Top-Priorities-for-2008/ [Accessed]. Priorities for 2008 [Online]. Available:
• AMASON, A. C. 2010. Strategic management: from theory to practice. New York: Routledge.
• AVISON, D., JONES, J., POWELL, P. & WILSON, D. 2004. Using and validating the strategic alignment model. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 13, 223-246.
• BENBYA, H. & MCKELVEY, B. 2006. Using coevolutionary and complexity theories to improve IS alignment: a multi-level approach. Journal of Information Technology, 21, 284-298.
• BROADBENT, M. 1990. The Alignment of Business and Information Strategies, unpublished Ph.D. thesis. Graduate School of Management, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
• BUNKER, D., KAUTZ, K. & ANHTUAN, A. 2008. An exploration of information systems adoption: tools and skills as cultural artefacts - the case of a management information system. Journal of Information Technology, 23, 71-78.
• CHAN, Y. E. & REICH, B. H. 2007. IT alignment: what have we learned? Journal of Information Technology, 22, 297-315.
• CIBORRA, C. 1997. De Profundis? Deconstructing the concept of strategic alignment [Online]. [Accessed].
• CIBORRA, C. & JELASSI, T. 1994. Strategic information systems: a European perspective, Chichester, Wiley.
• COLEMAN, P. & PAPP, R. Year. Strategic alignment: analysis of perspectives. In: Proceedings of the 2006 Southern Association for Information Systems Conference, 2006. 242-250.
• DAVID, F. R. 2009. Strategic management: concepts and cases, Upper Saddle River, NJ, Pearson Education, Inc.
• DOHERTY, N. F., MARPLES, C. G. & SUHAIMI, A. 1999. The relative success of alternative approaches to strategic information systems planning: an empirical analysis. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 8, 263-283.
• EARL, M. J. 1989. Management strategies for information technology, New York, Prentice Hall.
• EARL, M. J. 1993. Experiences in Strategic Information Systems Planning. MIS Quarterly, 17, 1-24.
• EARL, M. J. 1997. Integrating IS and the organization: a framework of organizational fit, London Business School.
• EIN-DOR, P. & SEGEV, E. 1982. Organizational Computing and MIS Structure: Some Empirical Evidence. MIS Quarterly 6, 55-68.
• GALLIERS, R. D. & SUTHERLAND, A. R. 1991. Information systems management and strategy formulation: the ‘stages of growth’ model revisited. Information Systems Journal, 1, 89-114.
• GRANT, K., HACKNEY, R. & EDGAR, D. 2010. Aligning IT/IS with Business Strategy Re-visited: a view from Complex Adaptive Systems International Journal of IT/Business Alignment and Governance, 3, 1-10.
• GUTIERREZ, A. 2009. ALIGNMENT OF IT PROJECTS WITH BUSINESSSTRATEGY: An analysis of the interrelationships between the factorsaffecting IS alignment at strategic, tactical and operational levels, unpublished Ph.D. thesis. Brunel University.
• GUTIERREZ, A. 2011. Alignment of IS projects with business strategy: Evolution of thinking and rpactice. European, Mediterranean & Middle Eastern Conference on Information Systems.
• HANN, J. & WEBER, R. 1996. Information Systems Planning: A Model and Empirical Tests. Management Science, 42, 1043-1064.
• HENDERSON, J. C. & VENKATRAMAN, N. 1993. STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT - LEVERAGING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR TRANSFORMING ORGANIZATIONS. IBM SYSTEMS JOURNAL, 32, 4-16.
• HIRSCHHEIM, R. & SABHERWAL, R. 2001. Detours in the path toward strategic information systems alignment. California Management Review, 44, 87.
• HOROVITZ, J. 1984. New perspective on strategic management. The Journal of Business Strategy, 4, 19.
• IBM 1981. Business Systems Planning, Planning Guide, Westchester Ave, White Plains, New York. , IBM Corporation.
• JOHNSON, A. M. & LEDERER, A. L. 2010. CEO/CIO mutual understanding, strategic alignment, and the contribution of IS to the organization. Information & Management, 47, 138-149.
• KEEN, P. G. W. 1993. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE MANAGEMENT DIFFERENCE - A FUSION MAP. IBM SYSTEMS JOURNAL, 32, 17-39.
• KEFI, H. & KALIKA, M. Year. Survey of Strategic Alignment Impacts on Organizational Performance in International European Companies. In: System Sciences, 2005. HICSS '05. Proceedings of the 38th Annual Hawaii International Conference on, 03-06 Jan. 2005 2005. 230c-230c.
• KEN, P. 1995. Integrated manufacturing: a strategic approach. Integrated Manufacturing Systems, 6, 18-23.
• KING, W. R. 1978. Strategic Planning for Management Information Systems. MIS Quarterly, 2, 27-37.
• KYOBE, M. 2008. The influence of strategy-making types on IT alignment in SMEs. Journal of Systems and Information Technology 10, 33-38.
• LEDERER, A. & MENDELOW, A. 1989. Co-ordination of information systems plans with business plans. Journal of Management Information Systems, 6, 5-19.
• LEVY, M., POWELL, P. & YETTON, P. 2011. Contingent dynamics of IS strategic alignment in small and medium-sized enterprises. Journal of Systems and Information Technology, 13, 106-124.
• LUFTMAN, J. 2000. Assessing Business-IT Alignment Maturity. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 4, 1-51.
• LUFTMAN, J. & BEN-ZVI, T. 2010. KEY ISSUES FOR IT EXECUTIVES 2009: DIFFICULT ECONOMY'S IMPACT ON IT. MIS Quarterly Executive, 9, 49-59.
• LUFTMAN, J. & KEMPAIAH, R. 2007. An update on Business-IT alignment: a line has been drawn MIS Quarterly Executive, 6, 129-177.
• LUFTMAN, J. N. 1996. Competing in the information age: strategic alignment in practice, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
• LUFTMAN, J. N., LEWIS, P. R. & OLDACH, S. H. 1993. TRANSFORMING THE ENTERPRISE - THE ALIGNMENT OF BUSINESS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIES. IBM SYSTEMS JOURNAL, 32, 198-221.
• LUFTMAN, L. & BRIER, T. 1999. Achieving and sustaining business-IT alignment. California Management Review, 42, 109.
• NEWKIRK, H. E. & LEDERER, A. L. 2007. The effectiveness of strategic information systems planning for technical resources, personnel resources, and data security in environments of heterogeneity and hostility. JOURNAL OF COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS, 47, 34-44.
• PEDRAZA, N., GUERRERO, M. & LAVIN, J. 2011. Alignment of E-Business with SMEs Strategies in Northeast of Mexico. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, 6, 205-224.
• PEPPARD, J. & BREU, K. 2003. Beyond Alignment: A Coevolutionary View of the Information Systems Strategy Process. http://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2003/61: ICIS 2003 Proceedings. International Conference on Information Systems.
• PORTER, M. E. 1985. How information gives you competitive advantage. Harvard Business Review, 63, 149.
• PORTER, M. E. 1996. What is strategy? Harvard Business Review, 74, 61-61.
• REICH, B. H. & BENBASAT, I. 1996. Measuring the Linkage between Business and Information Technology Objectives. MIS Quarterly, 20, 55-81.
• REICH, B. H. & BENBASAT, I. 2000. Factors That Influence the Social Dimension of Alignment between Business and Information Technology Objectives. MIS Quarterly, 24, 81-113.
• ROSS, J. W. & WEILL, P. 2002. Six IT decisions your IT people shouldn't make. Harvard business review, 80, 84-84.
• SCOTT MORTON, M. S. 1991. The Corporation of the 1990s: information technology and organizational transformation, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
• SILVIUS, A. J. G. Year. Business & IT Alignment in Theory and Practice. In, 2007. 211b-211b.
• SILVIUS, A. J. G. Year. Business and IT Alignment: What We Know and What We Don't Know. In: Information Management and Engineering, 2009. ICIME '09. International Conference on, 3-5 April 2009 2009. 558- 563.
• SMACZNY, T. 2001. Is an alignment between business and information technology the appropriate paradigm to manage IT in today's organisations? Management Decision, 39, 797.
• STRAUB, D., LOCH, K. D. & HILL, C. E. 2001. Transfer of Information Technology to the Arab World: A Test of Cultural Influence Modeling. IGI Global.
• VOSS, C. A. 1989. The Managerial Challenges of Integrated Manufacturing. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 9, 33-38.
• WAINWRIGHT, D. & WARING, T. 2004. Three domains for implementing integrated information systems: redressing the balance between technology, strategic and organisational analysis. International Journal of Information Management, 24, 329-346.
• WARD, J. & PEPPARD, J. 2002. Strategic planning for information systems, Chichester, John Wiley.
• WEILL, P. & BROADBENT, M. 1998. Leveraging the New Infrastructure: How Market Leaders Capitalize on Information Technology. Harvard Business School Press.
• WISEMAN, C. 1985. Strategy and computers: information systems as competitive weapons, Homewood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin.