The Relationship between Business Strategy, IT Strategy and Alignment Capability

Abstract

A key factor for in company’s success in a dynamic environment is effective and efficient information technology (IT) supporting business strategies and processes. Research has shown that organizations that successfully align their business strategy and their IT strategy outperform their non-aligned peers. This chapter explores the relationship between business strategy, IT strategy, and alignment capability. The author found no conclusive relationship between business strategy and IT strategy. Each business strategy can be supported by all IT strategies, but certain combinations provide a better fit than others. He also found no conclusive relationship between business strategy and alignment capability either. However the author found a clear relationship between IT strategy and alignment capability. The chapter explores this relationship further in a dual case study of two organizations having distinctly different IT strategies. One organization sees IT as an enabler for the business processes with mainly an internal impact, whereas the other organization IT sees as a driver for business innovation that can create competitive advantage in the marketplace. Based upon an assessment of their alignment capabilities, the author found that the company with the innovative IT strategy scored a distinctly higher alignment capability than the company with the essential IT strategy. Although this conclusion may not be surprising, it provides further evidence for the statement that a more progressive IT strategy pairs with a better alignment of business and IT.