Linking the strategic importance of ICT with investment in business-ICT alignment: An explorative framework
Cumps, Bjorn Viaene, Stijn Dedene, Guido
Cumps, Bjorn
Viaene, Stijn
Dedene, Guido
Citations
Altmetric:
Publication Type
Book Chapter
Supervisor
Publication Year
2012
Journal
Book
Business strategy and applications in enterprise IT Governance
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
Publication Begin page
37
Publication End page
55
Publication NUmber of pages
350
Collections
Abstract
In this chapter, we introduce a framework that can be used by organizations as a positioning instrument to think of business-ICT alignment decisions in light of the strategic importance of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in their organization. We make a distinction between organizations where ICT is of high strategic importance and those where ICT is of low strategic importance. Based on this difference we argue that heavily investing in business-ICT alignment processes, structures and roles (PSRs) will not necessarily always be beneficial when ICT is of low strategic importance to the business. Furthermore, organizations that have a minimalist approach to the use of ICT do not necessarily need to invest in business-ICT alignment PSRs. We explain the dynamics and possible migration scenarios of our proposed framework after testing the statistical significance of the relationship between the strategic importance of ICT and the investment in business-ICT alignment. We end this article with a short empirical study which combines survey and case study results. Both the framework and framework dynamics still need further empirical validation, preferably with longitudinal data. Therefore, we stress and acknowledge that many of the discussions in this article are still explorative in nature. However, this article illustrates the possibilities and the need for a more fine-grained approach to business-ICT alignment.
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Business/ICT alignment, ICT Management