Exploration of Cultural Influences on Business and IT Alignment

Abstract

Aligning IT to business needs is still one of the most important concerns for senior management. The message of business and IT alignment (BIA) is logical and undisputed, but implementation is apparently difficult. As part of a research program on the differences between the theory and practice of BIA, this paper explores the impact of (national) cultures on the maturity of BIA. The paper relies on Hofstede's framework of cultural dimensions [18] to understand the concept of culture. After a brief introduction on BIA we then analyze this influence by conceptually assessing the potential impact of Hofstede's cultural dimensions on the variables of BIA maturity. This conceptual exercise is than tested in a small-scale empirical exploration by comparing BIA maturity scores of Belgium and Dutch financial institutions. The results support a potential effect of national cultures on BIA maturity, especially in "governance maturity" and "skills maturity", but not all expected results are confirmed.