Information Systems Strategy Research Articles

Assessing realized information systems strategy

This research developed and validated a tool to measure realized information systems strategy or existing uses of information technology in organizations. It was recognized that intended uses of technology often differ from actual uses. The objective of the study was to determine a valid and reliable way of quantifying how information technology is actually used by organizations to provide support for business operations.

Power and Conflict in Information Systems Strategy: Operationalizing Giddens as Critical Explicator

Power and Conflict in Information Systems Strategy: Operationalizing Giddens as Critical Explicator

The use of computerized information systems to gain strategic competitive advantage: the case of a start‐up manufacturing company

Looks at the use of computerized information systems by a start‐up manufacturing company in the south of England. Describes the company ‐ Solent Technical Mouldings Ltd ‐ decided that these information systems would play a major role in assisting its entry into an industry where there were already many established companies. Later, information systems were a key factor in ensuring the company’s survival and growth. Outlines the information systems strategy adopted, and some of the benefits which followed. Draws some tentative lessons for other organizations in a similar position.

Information systems frameworks and strategy

Management information systems providers are often still failing to deliver appropriate systems to the perceived user specifications. A major problem is a lack of strategic perspective of information systems and their supporting information technology and a disparate view across organizations of what management information systems are. Investigates some aspects of these problems and suggests a portfolio methodology for improving the incorporation of system building into the overall business objectives.

Information systems strategy: long overdue—and still not here

Information systems (IS) professionals feel pressure to think strategically about their role in their organizations, but often have a minimal concept of strategy and the role IS might play in contributing to the organization's distinctiveness and competitive success. Nevertheless, new technologies are making information an increasingly pervasive resource, and global competitiveness demands improved market responsiveness and innovative use of all resources. This article describes general strategy concepts, offering templates to assess the organization both internally, within its functions, and externally, within the industry and society. In each of these models, information is critical. Examples are used to demonstrate how IS has been used to strengthen an organization's strategic position. The IS professional role is to integrate with functional management, applying systems thinking to position the organization for a more effective future. The article develops a summary ‘framework for IS strategy’ to describe the dimensions on which the IS manager can be a valuable resource on business strategy issues and generally improve management processes to enable effective customer focus, total quality management and decreased cycle time.

Information Systems Strategy Formation Embedded into a Continuous Organizational Learning Process

Mintzberg's viewpoint that strategy is an emergent learning process rather than a plan has a valuable contribution to make to the Information Systems IS field. This argumentation has rendered both the necessity of strategy planning sessions and the strategy plan itself questionable. Here, strategy is seen from an experiential learning perspective, but learning is supported by planning sessions. The purpose of the planning process is to produce a formal plan to direct IS development and utilization. On the other hand strategy is what an organization knows, not what is written. The outcome of an IS strategy process should thus be an increased understanding of IS opportunities and constraints, and a shared view of IS utilization. This study presents an approach to combine the learning and planning approaches to strategy formation. An approach to link the experiential learning cycle and the Information Systems Strategy ISS process is presented and tested. The proposed solution is based on four process phases. First, evaluation of the current organizational reality of IS utilization from the management, usage and Information Technology IT viewpoints. Secondly, joint learning through an interactive planning process between interest groups to improve managerial abilities, change organizational structures and reach a common view of IS use and management i.e. IS Strategy. Thirdly, another learning process directed by IS strategy during implementation at middle management and personnel levels. Finally, the outcome of the ISS process has to be constantly observed and evaluated to understand progress and needs for further development. A longitudinal case study has been conducted to test the developed approach. The research process is presented and the outcomes of the approach discussed.

Information Systems Strategic Planning: A Model for Implementation in Changing Organizations

In this paper, information systems (IS) strategic planning is assessed from a theoretical perspective, and related to organizational change. Based on the proposition that information systems is a domain which spans both the interpretivist and functionalist paradigms, an IS strategic planning framework is developed whereby the debating and design issues necessary to the success of IS strategy may be combined, and the whole aligned with corporate strategy. A complementarist approach to IS strategy formulation, and future development based on critical social theory is recommended. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Information systems strategies for multinational companies in Arab Gulf countries

With the emergence of an expanding interdependent global economy, information systems (IS) strategists need to face the challenges of internationalization. The growth of multinational business has led many corporations to support significantly high level of IS operations and IS applications development in foreign environments. By developing a conceptual framework, this paper addresses multinational companies (MNCs) IS global policy formulation and several implications for IS management issues in Arab Gulf countries (AGC). The objective is to illustrate the uniqueness of the business and IS problems confronting MNCs in AGC. Insights have been gained from examining the implications of the pertinent economic, sociopolitical, legal, and cultural variables that affect MNC IS global policy formulation. The uniqueness of the business and IS problems confronting MNCs in the AGC are illustrated. Helping MNC IS executives/professionals to understand the differences between their own environment and the one in which they must operate can improve their IS functions in this region. AGC native companies with IS activities can also benefit from such an analysis in managing their multinational personnel.

Implementing an IS strategy—A team approach

Although information systems strategy planning (ISSP) is vital to continuing organizational success and despite the existence of a multitude of frameworks and methods, organizations are still failing to deal effectively with IS planning problems. In order to help alleviate this problem, this article proposes an ISSP process. The article identifies separate process elements: phases, stages and modules of elementary activities. The proposed process aims to satisfy the need for a consistent linkage of IS strategy with corporate strategy by adopting elements of the corporate strategic planning literature. It provides a framework for enforcing the participation and involvement of managerial staff of the target organization and supports a structured team approach during the process's implementation. A case study of the approach illustrates the merits and pitfalls of the process.

Putting Soft OR Methods to Work: Information Systems Strategy Development at Richards Bay

The development of an information systems (IS) strategy for a mineral extraction and processing plant operated by Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ) in South Africa is described. The participative approach used was developed from soft OR and systems thinking. The aim of the Richards Bay project was to test commercially whether the Participative Information Management Strategy (PIMS) methodology could be used as a standard method to be applied to the development of an information systems strategy at any mine site. The paper describes the implementation of the process and the problems encountered. More generally it discusses the diffusion of new ideas in an international company, illustrated by the use of the participative approach for other activities including systems development. Conclusions are drawn about the value of participative approaches based on soft OR in this context.

Putting Soft OR Methods to Work: Information Systems Strategy Development at Richards Bay

The development of an information systems (IS) strategy for a mineral extraction and processing plant operated by Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ) in South Africa is described. The participative approach used was developed from soft OR and systems thinking. The aim of the Richards Bay project was to test commercially whether the Participative Information Management Strategy (PIMS) methodology could be used as a standard method to be applied to the development of an information systems strategy at any mine site. The paper describes the implementation of the process and the problems encountered. More generally it discusses the diffusion of new ideas in an international company, illustrated by the use of the participative approach for other activities including systems development. Conclusions are drawn about the value of participative approaches based on soft OR in this context.

Putting Soft OR Methods to Work: Information Systems Strategy Development at Richards Bay

Putting Soft OR Methods to Work: Information Systems Strategy Development at Richards Bay

Business Strategy and the Role of Engineering Product Data Management: A Literature Review and Summary of the Emerging Research Questions

This paper seeks to review the business strategy and product data management literature in an attempt to establish the nature of the relationship between them. One obvious linking theme is that of information systems strategies and their alignment with business processes, and therefore attention has also been given to this body of literature. The conclusions are that there is little well-researched understanding about the nature of the relationship and little concrete evidence of the relative importance of product data management in achieving overall business objectives. Therefore, if manufacturing organizations are to be able to invest wisely in product data management, substantial research is required to address the fundamental business and technical issues that have emerged as a result of this review.

Is Innovation and Organizational Alignment – a Professional Juggling Act

The securing and maintaining of alignment between business strategies and information systems (IS) strategies is frequently cited as a critical concern of IS managers. Consequently it has been ranked as an important issue for IS research agendas over the last decade. Very few empirical studies, however, have been reported with the result that there is no firm evidence to support the need for alignment, far less evidence for the way that strategies might interact. This paper reports the results of a longitudinal study which examines both IS and business strategies using an external-internal alignment model. After four years of data collection and analysis there is strong support for an alignment model which follows a lead-lag strategy. This implies that alignment is not a steady state but will reflect a dynamic model of change. In order to foster innovation in IS this change model requires to be managed through a ‘r'evolutionary cycle. This resembles a professional juggling act rather than a managed stage growth process. The alignment and change models are described and related to the management of innovation and organicity. In addition a continuing and future research agenda is identified.

IS innovation and organizational alignment — a professional juggling act

The securing and maintaining of alignment between business strategies and information systems (IS) strategies is frequently cited as a critical concern of IS managers. Consequently it has been rank...

Research Round‐up:

Focus on themes; evolutionary change; teamwork; education; eclectic use of methods; devolution of the IS function: fuzzy and and informal? Perhaps. But these are six features of the ‘organisational’ approach to information systems strategy preferred, on balance, by companies interviewed for the research summarised in this article.

Information Systems Strategy Development at Sainsbury's Supermarkets Using “Soft” OR

In 1989, Sainsbury's, the largest UK supermarket chain, developed a new information systems (IS) strategy. To obtain management ownership of the strategy and commitment to implementation, it adopted a participative approach using “soft” OR methods. The resulting strategy was projected to cost $73 million and give annual benefits of $64 million. Five years into the strategy the outcome can be evaluated. Inevitably the strategy has evolved. Implementation has taken longer and costs are more than estimated; but benefits are exceeding expectations. The results indicate the effectiveness of the decision-making process used, showing that qualitative OR approaches can be used to good effect and can sometimes be subjected to quantitative assessment.

Convergence and divergence in information systems and knowledge based systems development methodologies: a case for integrated strategic planning

There is a need to integrate knowledge based systems (KBS) with information systems (IS) technical solutions, which implies that KBS and IS development methodologies should be less isolated from each other. KBS and IS development methodologies are generally examined in terms of their similarities and differences. There is divergence at the feasibility and analysis stages, convergence at the design and coding stages, divergence during testing, convergence at the implementation stage, and divergence during maintenance. There are more similarities than there are differences between IS and KBS methodologies, particularly during the strategic planning stage. It is argued that linking KBS strategic planning to the planning element of an IS methodology will go further towards ensuring that the whole of the business is considered, leading to better integrated IS/KBS solutions. Application selection activities of two well-known KBS methodologies are briefly analysed. We show that these activities, which precede the feasibility study, do not consider the strategic aspects of the use of KBS (and IS in general) in business organizations. It is argued that a KBS strategy should be formulated in relation to the IS strategy and the business strategy, therefore increasing the convergence between IS and KBS methodologies.

Information systems strategy ‐ A five‐minute guide for public sector managers

(1995). Information systems strategy ‐ A five‐minute guide for public sector managers. Information Technology for Development: Vol. 6, No. 3-4, pp. 139-143.

Problem solving strategies for open information systems

Open information systems based on the open intelligent information systems architecture require appropriate strategies for problem solving. The problem solving strategies are the inferencing and control strategies that should exist in a knowledge-based type environment. The paper outlines the necessary strategies. The proposed strategies essentially augment the existing problem solving strategies, such as backward chaining, forward chaining and mixed chaining. The strategies are implemented in Prolog, and demonstrated using a prototype case.