Information Technology Executives Research Articles

Exploring Differences in the Perception of Business & IT Alignment

A key success factor for a successful company in a dynamic environment is effective and efficient information technology (IT) supporting business strategies and processes. In recent surveys however it is concluded that in most companies IT is not aligned with business strategy. The alignment between business needs and IT capabilities is therefore still a prominent area of concern. What is striking about these surveys is that they investigate the concerns of IT executives. The logic of business & IT alignment (BIA) however requires both IT and business executives to share this concern. Other research shows that business executives do not rank business & IT alignment very high in their concerns. This result raises the question whether BIA is an IT issue? And also: Do business executives perceive business & IT alignment differently than their IT colleagues? This paper investigates the difference in perception of BIA between business executives and IT executives. The paper presents an brief overview of the theory on BIA and reports an assessment of BIA maturity by business managers and IT managers in 12 Dutch firms.

IT capability and organizational performance: the roles of business process agility and environmental factors

The business value of information technology (IT) has been one of the top concerns of both practitioners and scholars for decades. Numerous studies have documented the positive effects of IT capability on organizational performance but our knowledge of the processes through which such gains are achieved remains limited due to a lack of focus on the business environment. Such a linkage therefore remains the subject of debate in the information systems literature. In this study, we fill this gap by investigating the mediating role of business process agility and the moderating roles of environmental factors. On the basis of matched survey data obtained from 214 IT and business executives from manufacturing firms in China, our analyses show that even though firm-wide IT capability presents the characteristics of rarity, appropriability, non-reproducibility, and non-substitutability, its impact on organizational performance is fully mediated by business process agility. Our results also show that the impact of the environment is multifaceted and nuanced. In particular, environmental hostility weakens the effect of IT capability on business process agility, while environmental complexity strengthens it. The theoretical and practical implications of this study, and its limitations, are also discussed.

SEMANTIC APPROACH UTILIZING DATA MINING AND CASE-BASED REASONING FOR IT SUPPORT SERVICE

Information Technology (IT) plays a very important role in all organizations. IT executives are constantly faced with problems that are difficult to tackle. Failure in IT service can interrupt the functioning of an organization. Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) is a problem solving methodology where experience in the form of past cases can be used to solve problems, thereby assisting the automation of problem solving and experience management. Furthermore, the performance, quality and efficiency of CBR systems can be enhanced through data mining. In order to support the IT team for faster and efficient problem resolution, a case-based reasoning approach integrated with data mining techniques could be utilized. In this paper, the study done on various CBR systems and data mining techniques for problem and experience management is explained. A system is proposed for IT experience and problem management with semantic retrieval in order to increase the efficiency and quality of the IT support service.

A model to support IT infrastructure planning and the allocation of IT governance authority

Information technology (IT) requires a significant investment, involving up to 10.5% of revenue for some firms. Managers responsible for aligning IT investments with their firm's strategy seek to minimize technology costs, while ensuring that the IT infrastructure can accommodate increasing utilization, new software applications, and modifications to existing software applications. It becomes more challenging to align IT infrastructure and IT investments with firm strategy when firms operate in multiple geographic markets, because the firm faces different competitive positions and unique challenges in each market.We discussed these challenges with IT executives at four Forbes Global 2000 firms headquartered in Northern Europe. We build on interviews with these executives to develop a discrete-time, finite-horizon Markov decision model to identify the most economically-beneficial IT infrastructure configuration from a set of alternatives. While more flexibility is always better (all else equal) and lower cost is always better (all else equal), our model helps firms evaluate the tradeoff between flexibility and cost given their business strategy and corporate structure. Our model supports firms in the decision process by incorporating their data and allowing firms to include their expectations of how future business conditions may impact the need to make IT changes. Because the model is flexible enough to accept parameters across a range of business strategies and corporate structures, the model can help inform decisions and ensure that design choices are consistent with firm strategy.

The role of the strategic and adaptive Chief Information Officer in higher education

The study examined the evolving role of Information Technology executives in higher education with the objective of detailing the skills and experiences necessary to be a Chief Information Officer ...

Council on Clinical Information Technology Executive Committee, 2011–2012. Policy Statement: Electronic Prescribing in Pediatrics: Toward Safer and More Effective Medication Management. Pediatrics. 2013;131(4):824–826

Council on Clinical Information Technology Executive Committee, 2011–2012. Policy Statement: Electronic Prescribing in Pediatrics: Toward Safer and More Effective Medication Management. Pediatrics. 2013;131(4):824–826

Transforming local government by project portfolio management

PurposeAs public organizations strive for higher e‐government maturity, information technology (IT) Project Portfolio Management (IT PPM) has become a high priority issue. Assuming control is central in IT PPM, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how a Danish local government conducts control in IT PPM. The authors identify control problems and formulate recommendations to address these.Design/methodology/approachAdopting principles from Engaged Scholarship, the authors have conducted a case study using a wide variety of data collection methods, including 29 interviews, one workshop, and analyses of documents.FindingsIt is found that the local government relies vastly on informal control mechanisms and five control problems are identified: weak accountability processes between the political and administrative level; weak accountability between the director level and the IT executives; IT projects established on the basis of incomplete information about internal resources; lack of operational goals to hold IT projects accountable; and no account of actual IT project costs. The authors propose a model for highlighting how more formal control can be implemented and address the identified control problems.Research limitations/implicationsAs a single qualitative case study, the results are limited to one organization and subject.Practical implicationsThe paper has implications for IT PPM in Danish local governments and similar organizations in other countries. The paper shows that the lack of formal control mechanisms makes accountability between hierarchical levels difficult, which deprives organizations of the opportunity to pursue and display unambiguous value from their e‐government initiatives.Originality/valueThis paper fulfills an identified need to understand how local governments can improve IT PPM.

Aligning IT strategy with business strategy for competitive advantage: a structural equation model

For the last two decades, Information Technology (IT) in general, and information systems (IS) in particular have rapidly advanced in capability and have changed the way organisations do business. For many firms, IT spending constitutes one of the largest yearly budget items. Alignment IT strategy and business strategy has assumed significant importance in business planning. However, the factors influencing strategic alignment and its effect on the competitive advantage of firms have remained understudies. The objectives of this research were to identify the behavioural, technical and organisational factors underlying strategic alignment and to investigate strategic alignment influence on the use of IT for competitive advantage. A questionnaire was administered to 202 IT and business executives in the Malaysian tour and travel agencies. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques to validate a hypothesised second-order model of strategic alignment model. Analysis supported the hypothesis that the alignment of IT strategy with business strategy has a positive influence on the use of IT for competitive advantage.

Empirical Analysis for the Factors Affecting the Adoption of Cloud Computing Initiatives by Information Technology Executives

The tremendous explosion of technology acceptance theories has not spared the corpus of technology adoption literature from criticism that most of these models only evaluate the adoption of new technology from a single perspective. In an effort to attenuate this criticism, this breaks ranks with extant theories and proposes a unified model for evaluating technology adoption from multiple perspectives. The Technology Trade Theory (Triple-T) model which this study proposes integrates the Social Exchange Theory into the Technology Acceptance Model, and proposes that technology acceptance is a function of a deliberate process of weighing the advantages associated with that technology against its disadvantages. Adoption only happens when the advantages outweigh the disadvantages; otherwise, prospective adopters reject the technology. In this, the model recognizes a total of eight advantages and eight disadvantages associated with cloud computing, on the basis of which its claims are validated. Data is collected by means of structured psychometric scales administered to a panel of medium and top level IT managers. Psychometric scales are also used to attach weights to each of the variables under study. The Pearson’s coefficient and paired tailed tests are used to analyze the nature, strength and significance of the findings. Findings validate the major claims of the study, on the basis of which research implications are extensively discussed.

Information technology, the organizational capability of proactive corporate environmental strategy and firm performance: a resource-based analysis

The study of the relationships between information technology (IT), environmental organizational issues and firm performance is a cutting-edge research topic for the information systems (IS) community. However, at present we know very little about these relationships. Drawing on the perspective of IT-enabled organizational capabilities and the literature on organizations and the natural environment, our study introduces conceptually the construct organizational capability of proactive corporate environmental strategy to the IS field. We propose that IT capability may enable the implementation of a proactive environmental strategy and that this strategy could play a significant role in determining the business value of IT. Using structural equations modeling with data collected from 63 firms, we find that IT capability is an enabler of proactive environmental strategy and that this strategy plays a significant role in mediating the effects of IT on firm performance. Our study provides initial evidence on the role of IT in the implementation of proactive environmental practices. Our results suggest to IT executives that their decisions matter in shaping environmental sustainability, which in turn will generate business value from IT.

Examining the Effect of the Strategic Alignment of Business Planning and Information Systems Planning in China

In this paper a conceptual model is presented, and the associated measurement variables are identified to examine the strategic alignment of business planning (BP) and information systems planning (ISP) in China and its causal relationships with ISP problems, BP activities and the strategic position of ISP. The model was tested and verified by an empirical study, including a formal survey with data and model analyses. Further, the research findings and results reveal that in China the stage of BP-ISP integration is closely related to business planning activities and the integration is positively related to business requirements for information technology (IT) and the role of IT executives. When increasing the level of the integration, not only will the problems of ISP become less, but ISP will also influence business planning activities more and support them better. This paper is concluded with research implications and recommendations.

The Association between Top Management Involvement and Compensation and Information Security Breaches

ABSTRACTThis paper examines how an information technology (IT) executive's position in a top management team and how his/her compensation are associated with the likelihood of information security breaches. Using a sample drawn from multiple sources in the period from 2003 to 2008, we show that an IT executive's involvement in the top management team is negatively related to the possibility of information security breaches. We also find that the amount of behavior-based (i.e., salary) compensation and the pay differences of outcome-based (i.e., bonuses, stock awards, and stock options) compensation between IT and non-IT executives are negatively associated with the likelihood of information security breaches. Our findings shed light on how an IT executive's status in the top management team and the composition of his/her compensation can be related to a firm's IT governance mechanisms.

An Information Technology Executive's View of Innovation

PG. 1 WHAT IS YOUR GENERAL PERSPECTIVE OF INNOVATION IN AN ORGANIZATION? WB. 1 Recently my wife came home from the library with a basket full of books that my 3⁄2 year old had chosen . One book happened to be a children’s biographical account of Thomas Alva Edison’s life and his many accomplishments. Over Thomas Edison’s life he attained 1093 patents which until recently was the highest for any individual. Many would agree that Thomas Edison might be the most innovative figure in history with inventions such as the electronic stock ticker, the motion picture camera, and of course the light bulb. What was interesting is that early in Thomas’s Edison’s childhood his mother removed him from school after just 3 months as she felt the teacher, Mr. Engle did not know how to teach a curious child. I think organizations can sometimes be similar to Mr. Engle in their approach towards innovation. Mr. Engle strove for strict completion of lesson and assignments and didn’t recognize that a budding innovative genius was sitting in his classroom. Likewise organizations can be overly focused on process improvement and driving cost containment initiatives while possibly overlooking the innovative potential within the midst of their organization that could revolutionize a team, department, organization or an industry. Every individual may not be an innovator at the level of Thomas Edison but I am suggesting that organizations may overlook a lot of undiscovered ingenuity within their own four walls.

The Sidelining of Top IT Executives in the Governance of Outsourcing: Antecedents, Power Struggles, and Consequences

This study attempts to highlight the paradoxical aspects of top management power contests within customer firms that outsource information technology (IT) work. Intraorganizational power theory forms the overarching theoretical basis for this study. The focus is on the antecedents and consequences of the relative power of business executives (Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer) versus IT executives (Chief Information Officer, Head of IT) in the governance of IT outsourcing. Evidence from a field survey supports the existence of a paradox. When a firm's financial performance has been poor and the firm did not have a sizeable IT workforce, the business executives give themselves greater power and sideline the IT executives. Paradoxically, rather than leading to positive consequences, such power play weakens outsourcing performance. Outsourcing performance is best when power is solely with the IT executives group, a close second best when power is divided between the two groups (joint decision making), and worst when it is solely with the business executives group. Overall, when it comes to the outsourcing of IT work, business executives might find reasons to justify increasing their own power and reducing the power of IT executives, even though this can ultimately be detrimental to outsourcing performance. These findings lend credence to case studies and practitioner articles that have reported such occurrences.

Factors Influencing Information Technology Usage for New Product Development: The Case of Japanese Companies*

Although information technology (IT) tools for new product development (NPD) are widely available, prior studies have found the usage of IT to be limited to large-sized firms (cf. Barczak and Sultan, 2006), but increasing (Cooper, 2007). Extant research indicates that several factors influence IT usage, including the existence of a champion and NPD process formalization (Barczak, Sultan, and Hultink, 2007; Barczak, Hultink, and Sultan, 2008). In addition, the antecedents to IT usage have been found to vary among countries (Barczak, Hultink, and Sultan, 2008); that is, they are context-specific. This study extends prior research by exploring the factors that facilitate and/or inhibit IT usage for NPD in Japanese firms. Japan was chosen for this study because it has been argued that, in order to develop generalized NPD theories applicable across different nations or cultures, further understanding is needed about countries other than North American and Western European countries (Song and Parry, 1996; Song, Kawakami, and Stringfellow, 2010). Additionally, the culture of Japan is known for being very different from North America and other Western countries, particularly in terms of Japan's relative emphasis on the collective as opposed to the individual; high in uncertainty avoidance as opposed to low uncertainty avoidance; and long-term orientation rather than short-term orientation (Hofstede, 2005; Kawakami, Maclachlan, and Stringfellow, forthcoming). The lack of research in Japan on IT and NPD implied the need for an exploratory, grounded theory approach to this study. Using a multiple case study method, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 35 marketing, R&D, and IT managers and executives in 19 firms in a variety of industries. Based on the analysis of the interview data and the follow-up surveys, the authors propose that ten factors in five categories, namely, strategic factors, market environment factors, development process factors, organizational factors, and technology-human interaction factors, are likely to influence IT usage for NPD in Japanese companies. Specifically, product innovativeness, extent of global engagement, formalized IT ROI measure, standardization of NPD activities, physical proximity, resistance to change, CIO as an executive sponsor, sensory requirements, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness are expected to influence IT usage. From a theoretical perspective, this study extends prior research on IT usage by expanding the cultural context beyond North America and Western Europe by focusing on an Asian country, namely Japan. It also adds to the limited research that integrates national culture and NPD and enables the development of a conceptual model that could be tested empirically.

IT– Business Strategic Alignment in Influencing Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Jordan: Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) Approach

In many review articles or studies, the researchers have encouraged further exploration on the causal links between Information Technology (IT) investments and a firm’s sustainable competitive advantage. The outcomes of empirical studies have been inconclusive, which is to a certain extent due to the omission of IT-business strategic alignment. Indeed, strategic alignment has emerged as one of the most important issues facing business and IT executives all over the world. This paper reports on the empirical investigation of the success factors, which consist of leadership, structure and process, service quality, and values and beliefs, which are representative of the culture gap between IT strategy and business strategy. A questionnaire survey among 200 IT managers was carried out and 172 data sets were collected. This represented a 86% response rate. After a rigorous data screening process including outliers, normality, reliability and validity, 172 data sets were ready for structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to examine the composite reliability, convergent validity and goodness of fit of the individual constructs and measurement models. The revised structural model demonstrates the relationships between all the four exogenous variables and IT-business strategic alignment, and all the four exogenous variables and sustainable competitive advantage. In addition, regarding the revised model there are two mediating effects of strategic alignment in the relationship between leadership, structure and process, service quality, values and beliefs, and sustainable competitive advantage. Keywords: Strategic alignment, alignment gap, information technology, sustainable competitive advantage.

An Experimental Study of Executive Decision-Making With Implications for Decision Support

Past research in the field of information systems has explored factors and conditions that are relevant to decision-making in many contexts. However, very little is known about how executives consider, weigh, and integrate these factors. One current school of thought holds that intuition and instincts can play a significant role and that when decision-makers use their instincts, they rely on only a relatively small subset of the cues available to them. This has implications for designing and improving decision support systems, which form a major and widespread element of modern organizational computing. We examine the decision-making policies of professional decision-makers. High-level information technology executives were asked to evaluate the likelihood of making a strategic investment in the face of varying environmental scenarios. Using policy-capturing methodology, we find differences between what the executives thought was important to their decision-making and what is revealed as actually being important. In addition, we find that personal characteristics of risk-taking propensity and innovativeness affect the way the decision-makers integrate information. We argue that the idiosyncratic nature of the executive-environment relationship calls for increased emphasis on developing suitably adapted decision support systems (e.g., business intelligence systems) for executive decision-making.

IT leadership from a problem solving perspective

Information Technology (IT) leadership is a domain in need of investigation and development. Here, we present a general model for problem solving leadership and describe our application of that model to IT organizations, with special attention to the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO). We tested the real-world value of this model through intensive interviews with 26 senior IT executives of major organizations, from which we identified four key leadership challenges facing CIOs today: (1) bridging cognitive gaps; (2) building and managing problem solving diversity; (3) shifting focus to process; and (4) solving problems and managing change. Integrating problem solving concepts with insights gained from the interviews, we offer practical approaches for aligning IT with business objectives, transforming the image of IT, and managing change, among other recommendations.

The Influence of Perceived Source Credibility on End User Attitudes and Intentions to Comply with Recommended IT Actions

Through persuasive communications, information technology (IT) executives hope to align the actions of end users with the expectations of senior management and of the firm regarding technology usage. One highly influential factor of persuasive effectiveness is the source of the persuasive message. This study presents a conceptual model for explaining the influence of source credibility on end user attitudes and behavioral intentions to comply with organizationally motivated, recommended IT actions within a decentralized, autonomous environment. The results of this study suggest that the elements of source competency, trustworthiness, and dynamism are significant determinants of attitudes and behavioral intentions to engage in recommended IT actions. These findings reveal the importance of these elements of effective communication in persuading end users to follow recommended IT activities and advance IT acceptance and adoption research through the application of persuasive communication theory to the domain.

Understanding the dynamics of information management costs

Introduction Over the past decade, the mountains of data accumulating within firms - expanding at an annual rate of 30-50% and fueled in part by recent legislation such as SEC Rule 17a-4 mandating the retention of electronic communications (for example, email and instant messaging) in financial services firms for periods of up to three years - has forced information technology (IT) executives to ask how should this data deluge be managed. Intel, whose data warehouse is currently estimated at over 30 petabytes has increased its data storage by an average of 35% annually with the expectation that, if current trends continue, its data center could expand to 165 petabytes by 2014. Yet even as data volumes climb, causing data centers to double in size every other year, an innovation-led drop in annual per-gigabyte storage costs of between 35-45% (see Figure 1) has failed to halt the rise in storage spending. With organizing and utilizing data now seen as one of the most critical issues facing firms worldwide, IT executives note that non-discretionary IT spending - 25% of which covers information management costs and storage infrastructure, in particular - has now reached a point where strategic IT initiatives are at risk. Hence, CIOs have a pressing need to understand the dynamics of information management costs and their ability to control these costs through carefully chosen policies governing data collection and retention. Knowing how these costs behave, CIOs can continue to support the data needs of their firms without limiting their IT goals. To begin this process, we examine a tiered information framework that, by considering the value of information, allows CIOs to comprehend the interplay of market forces that shape information costs. Lastly, we review several challenges posed by our framework that future academic research can help to resolve.