Social Barriers in Business-IT Alignment in a Public Organization in Indonesia

Abstract

The social dimension of alignment plays an important role in business-IT alignment (BITA). The study aimed to get in-depth knowledge of barriers in BITA by identifying and analyzing factors that inhibit alignment from the social perspective using as case study the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) of the Republic of Indonesia. Based on the data collected through semi-structured interviews and internal documents from this public organization in Indonesia, the data was thematic analyzed. The findings of the study are 15 social barriers in BITA in MEMR from which the following five are new social barriers in BITA: uncoordinated IT initiatives; sectoral ego; frequent rotation of executives in organizational structure; poor understanding of IT for growing; and the lack of support by the business in IT initiatives continuation. The findings of the study can be considered by other public organizations that aim to improve their alignment between business and IT, and finally their public service delivery.