Effective management of IT required planning processes that create a high degree of business-IT alignment. Business-IT strategic alignment is among the main management concerns of information systems managers and corporate chief executives. The problem is that alignment become difficult to implement as companies strive to link business and technology in light of the internationalization of their businesses. The purpose of IT strategic alignment research is twofold: (a) identify the reasons why alignment gaps exist between business goals and IT strategies, and (b) find a fit between business objectives and IT plans by building an integrated framework to explicate their interactive values.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the present positivistic research study was to investigate business-IT strategic alignment in a multinational corporation by examining (a) the role of knowledge management processes in the relationship between contextual factors and alignment, and (b) the role of IT projects in the relationship between alignment and organizational performance and effectiveness.
This study used a field survey and structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques to analyze data collected through the stratified random sampling of 263 IT and business managers employed in the U.N. Secretariat.
Implications to Leaders in MNCs
This study had several managerial implications for the consideration of business executives and information systems managers and provided insights to researchers on the issues of business-IT strategic alignment in complex multinational organizations.
The results of this study have at least four implications to leaders in MNCs:
(a) the effects of top managers’ knowledge of IT on strategic business-IT alignment
(b) the importance of business-IT alignment to organizational performance and effectiveness
(c) the importance of internal context and nature of the organization to knowledge integration
(d) the role of senior management in knowledge management and strategic management of IT.
Recommendations for Leadership
A theoretical and practical perspective of business-IT strategic alignment in the U.N. Secretariat is provided. The business-IT strategic alignment implementation model for MNCs (mSAIM) is the model for application proposed as critical recommendations of this research study.
The mSAIM model is a five-stage process or a roadmap for business-IT strategic alignment. The mSAIM model draws upon the proposed business-IT strategic alignment model for MNCs (mSAM) which covers process and content perspectives of the interrelationship between business and IT for this category of organizations.
The Five-Stage Process of IT Strategic Alignment
The five-stage process of IT strategic alignment covers process and content perspectives of the interrelationship between business and IT in MNCs. The process perspective includes the following dimensions: (a) intellectual and social, (b) short- and long-term, (c) shared domain knowledge, and (d) enablers and inhibitors. The content perspective focused on the strategic orientation of business enterprises and the strategic orientation of the existing portfolio of information systems.
The five-stage process summarizes the steps for a successful IT strategic alignment in MNCs. The process has five stages, each of which is associated with one of the nine reasons explaining IT projects failure. The steps are: clarifying the strategic business orientation, developing leadership competencies of business and IT managers, sharing knowledge, strategically planning IT projects, and strategically managing IT and technological changes.
Information:
Don’t forget to join the Business-IT Strategic Alignment community and share your experience using LinkedIn.
Kindly please send me an invitation to connect to download the five-stage process of business-IT strategic alignment from the Slideshare presentations on my profile.
Coming Soon:
Two peer-reviewed articles and two books on Business-IT strategic alignment for complex MNCs will be published soon.
14 replies on “Business-IT Strategic Alignment in Complex Multinational Corporations (MNCs) – Research Results”
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