Strategic IS planning practise in Croatia: Organizational and managerial challenges

Abstract

In recent years, the role of information technology has grown in importance. Thus, strategic IS planning is evolving into a key part of a company's strategic business plan. This paper presents the results of a survey on the strategic IS planning practices of Croatian companies. The results of the survey are compared with similar surveys in Slovenia and Singapore. In Croatia, companies' IT is still considered just a tool for automation of present business processes, completely neglecting the challenging role of IT as a competitive resource in the market place. The research findings indicate that the source of this problem comes from lack of knowledge and interest in IT from top management structures of Croatian corporations. Thus, significant efforts must be taken by management to develop a new hybrid manager profile. Certainly, this type of manager must get additional knowledge in strategic business planning and IT management.