The alignment of business and information technology (IT) strategy is an important and enduring theoretical challenge for the information systems discipline and has remained a top issue in practice for the past twenty years. The extant literature makes two implicit assumptions. One is that IT strategy is aligned with a single business strategy, either at the corporate level or within a single strategic business unit (SBU). The other is that strategies are developed at a single point in time. Therefore, multi-business organisations present a particular alignment challenge, because business strategies are developed at both the corporate level and SBU levels, and these strategies are developed over time. This dissertation contributes a dynamic, capabilities-based theory of business and IT strategy alignment. Rather than extending existing models, this study draws on theory from the resource-based view of the firm and path dependence to address business and IT alignment within and between corporate and SBU levels across the strategy cycle. A new dynamic alignment model conceptualises IT alignment as the fit between business and IT strategies within the corporate and SBU levels and the coherence between these two levels. Value is created by complementary relationships among business and IT capabilities. IT alignment (or misalignment) is embedded over the strategy cycle, with the degrees of freedom declining quickly over time. The new model is validated using pattern matching with a single critical case of strategy development in a multi-business organisation across a complete strategy cycle. The strong match between the empirically observed and theoretically predicted patterns, and the complex nature of these patterns, provides strong support for the model. The model reconceptualises the way IT alignment drives organisational performance and how IT alignment changes over time. This has implications for existing IT alignment models, providing alternative theoretical explanations of how IT alignment creates value and how IT alignment changes over time. The new model also has implications for practice across the IT investment value chain and its governance.

In order to solve a problem of Business and IT Alignment (BITA) it is important to consider various dimensions of it: strategic, structural, social and cultural. In the context of dealing with BITA, Enterprise Modeling (EM) is an acknowledged and widely used practice. On one hand, EM facilitates the creation of integrated models that capture and represent different focal areas of an enterprise, there-fore it allowing to obtain a multidimensional view on an enterprise and to inte-grate these multiple dimensions into a coherent structure. These capabilities make EM a powerful tool for dealing with the strategic and structural dimen-sions of BITA. On the other hand, solving a BITA problem requires dealing with the numerous points of view of the stakeholders and creating a shared under-standing between them, which refers to the social and cultural dimensions of BITA. In this regard EM is also able to provide support to the development of an understanding about the current multidimensional praxis and future vision and strategies. Thus, EM has a high potential for dealing with the strategic, structur-al, social and cultural dimensions of BITA. This licentiate thesis investigates the applicability of EM in the light of BITA and proposes a framework that allocates intentions of EM application within the frame of the Strategic Alignment Model. The framework positions EM conceptually in the context of BITA and identifies a number of EM challenges and recommendations to suggest how EM can be used to facilitate BITA.

Business-IT alignment has been a top research topic for three decades now and consistently ranks high on CIO priorities and concerns. In spite of its seeming advantages, sustainable business-IT alignment remains elusive in practice. This can be attributed to the language and knowledge gaps which impede mutual understanding between business and IT stakeholders. It can also be attributed to the limitations imposed by approaching alignment solely from a strategic perspective. This thesis argues for an ontology-based framework that bridges the language and knowledge gaps through closer interaction between business and IT stakeholders throughout the software development and project management lifecycles, especially at the requirements engineering stage. Attempts at achieving sustainable business-IT alignment predominantly focus on strategic alignment and have not been successful for various reasons. Firstly, driving down alignment initiatives to the operational and tactical levels is challenging. Secondly, it is difficult to operationalize the metrics used for evaluating alignment maturity at strategic levels. These limitations are less pronounced at the functional levels of an organization. It is at these levels that business strategies are executed and interaction between business and IT personnel is most frequent. The interaction between business and IT stakeholders in the execution of IT projects presents an opportunity that can be leveraged to drive alignment maturity. The proposed framework is discussed in terms of its underpinning hypotheses, workflows, tool design and implementation, its use with a third party framework and tool. Antecedents to operational and tactical alignment such as quality, reuse, communication, learning, and shared understanding, are proposed as a practical means of achieving sustainable alignment maturity. The framework is applied to real world, business-critical projects in a top global financial services organization and validated using descriptive statistical analysis and structural equation modelling techniques. Contributions made through the study are highlighted. This includes the Alignment Forces Model which unifies the proposed framework and its support tool within software development and project management lifecycles. The Alignment Forces model and how it can be applied in practice is presented. Results of the quantitative data analyses indicate support for the arguments for the framework towards improving business-IT alignment, however with some limitations. Results also indicate support for the hypotheses for the antecedents to sustainable alignment maturity at lower organizational levels put forward. Finally, suggestions on furthering the study, addressing its limitations, and refining the framework and tool are articulated.

Stratgic alignment has been one of the top concerns for IT executives for decades. One of the great debates in literature regarding strategic alignment is what act ‘alignment’ means, why it is needed and how do enterprises stay aligned. Alignment has many definitions, but in this context, it is concerned with the integration of business and IT strategies. Research has proven that there are positive relations to enterprise performance when it is aligned.   This qualitative research investigates the causes of misalignment through the views and thoughts of IT professionals at a Scandinavian IT consultancy company. By using a model created by, Schlosser, Wagner, and Coltman, this thesis could establish the most common factors to achieve alignment in the given enterprise. The model allowed the field of business-IT alignment to be explored in IT projects, and allowed for a better understanding of what causes misalignment.   This thesis conducted six interviews to answers two research questions; (1) what factors cause misalignment in IT projects and (2) how do these factors differ in different methodologies. The results from the analysis found that the main factors of misalignment were ‘procedures / workflow alignment’, ‘managerial skills of business and IT employees’, ‘technical skills and knowledge of IT employees’, ‘mutual trust and respect between business and IT executives / employees’, ‘IT skills and knowledge of business executives/employees’ and ‘alignment of business and IT strategy/goals/plans’. The second research question could  concluded that more research is needed to understand how factors change using different methodologies, as the results were to similar to reach a definit conclusion. For future research the thesis recommends using a multiple case study using the same model to verify the data gathered in this thesis and to strengthen the use of the model.

A number of attempts have been made to define strategic business and information technology (IT) alignment; several representations of what it is are available in academic and practitioners’ fields. The literature suggests that firms need to achieve strategic business and IT alignment to be competitive. Strategic business and IT alignment impact business performance and IT effectiveness. We propose a unified strategic business and IT alignment model based on four strategic business and IT alignment models: Strategic Alignment Model (SAM), Strategic Alignment Maturity Model (SAMM), information system strategic alignment model and an operational model of strategic alignment. I argue that such a unified model will provide a better understanding of the nature and key aspects of strategic business and IT alignment from different, and sometimes complementary, theories. The unified model represents the concepts and instruments used in these four strategic businesses and IT alignment models. Our principal research goal is to pave the way to develop a common understanding between the different models. The components of the unified strategic business and IT alignment model were ranked with a group of IT experts and business experts from four public universities in Nicaragua. The result can be used as a basis for improving strategic business and IT alignment. / QC 20111212

In order to solve a problem of Business and IT Alignment (BITA) it is important to consider various dimensions of it: strategic, structural, social and cultural. In the context of dealing with BITA, Enterprise Modeling (EM) is an acknowledged and widely used practice. On one hand, EM facilitates the creation of integrated models that capture and represent different focal areas of an enterprise, there-fore it allowing to obtain a multidimensional view on an enterprise and to inte-grate these multiple dimensions into a coherent structure. These capabilities make EM a powerful tool for dealing with the strategic and structural dimen-sions of BITA. On the other hand, solving a BITA problem requires dealing with the numerous points of view of the stakeholders and creating a shared under-standing between them, which refers to the social and cultural dimensions of BITA. In this regard EM is also able to provide support to the development of an understanding about the current multidimensional praxis and future vision and strategies. Thus, EM has a high potential for dealing with the strategic, structur-al, social and cultural dimensions of BITA. This licentiate thesis investigates the applicability of EM in the light of BITA and proposes a framework that allocates intentions of EM application within the frame of the Strategic Alignment Model. The framework positions EM conceptually in the context of BITA and identifies a number of EM challenges and recommendations to suggest how EM can be used to facilitate BITA.

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This study aims to investigate and identify factors within the social dimension of strategic alignment that can create mis-alignment within the organization and its IT projects. Identified factors are seen as risks and obstacles that organizations should work with to prevent strategic misalignment in future projects. The study examines the implementation of a common CRM-system (Customer relationship management) for a global organization based in Sweden. The study is anonymized to protect the organization and its respondents. Data collection has been performed using a triangulation based on semi-structured interviews with project members from both the IT and business department, documentation about the CRM project, the case organization's IT strategy and results from related research. The study took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and was thus carried out remotely using digital tools. A total of 17 factors were identified, of which 8 are unique to this study that has a direct impact on the case organization's strategic alignment within the CRM project. These factors have also been the basis for placing the case organization in a maturity pyramid for strategic alignment. Communication and knowledge sharing between IT and business, remnants of old legacy from silo operations and previously unsuccessful CRM projects, shortcomings in time planning and resource allocation, weak preparation, lack of training and low commitment are examples of what the results of this research identify affect strategic alignment for large Swedish organizations in projects. / Denna studie syftar att undersöka och identifiera faktorer inom den sociala dimensionen av strategisk linjering som kan skapa strategisk fel-linjering inom organisationer och dess IT-projekt. Identifierade faktorer ses som risker och hinder som organisationer bör arbeta med för att förhindra strategisk fel-linjering inom framtida projekt.  Studien undersöker implementeringen av ett gemensamt CRM-system (Customer relationship management) för en global organisation med säte i Sverige. Studien är anonymiserad för att skydda organisationen och dess respondenter. Datainsamling har utförts med hjälp av en triangulering som grundar sig i  semistrukturerade intervjuer med projektmedlemmar från både IT- och affärsverksamheten, dokumentation om CRM-projektet och fallorganisationens IT-strategi samt resultat från relaterad forskning. Studien ägde rum under COVID-19 pandemin och utfördes därmed på distans med hjälp av digitala verktyg. Totalt identifierades 17 faktorer varav 8 unika för denna studien som har en direkt inverkan på fallorganisationens strategisk linjering inom CRM-projektet. Dessa har faktorer har även legat till grunden för att placera fallorganasitonen i en mognads pyramid för strategisk linjering. Kommunikation och kunskapsdelning mellan IT- och affärsverksamheten, kvarlevor av gammalt arv från siloverksamheter och tidigare misslyckade CRM-projekt, brister i tidsplanering och resursallokering, svagt förarbete, brist på utbildning och lågt engagemang är exempel på vad resultatet från denna forskning identifierar påverka strategisk linjering för stora svenska organisationer i projekt.

p. 1-112 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-02-26T17:45:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 888.pdf: 994262 bytes, checksum: 4a799ea05dc1fc86237f23aea00582d7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Alice Ribeiro(malice@ufba.br) on 2013-03-02T01:54:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 888.pdf: 994262 bytes, checksum: 4a799ea05dc1fc86237f23aea00582d7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-03-02T01:54:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 888.pdf: 994262 bytes, checksum: 4a799ea05dc1fc86237f23aea00582d7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Esta dissertação foi dedicada ao estudo das possibilidades estratégicas da Tecnologia da Informação (TI). Objetivou confirmar, por intermédio de um estudo de caso, os pressupostos de que, quando existe alinhamento da TI com os objetivos essenciais do negócio, sua aplicação tende a abranger finalidades estratégicas e a propiciar o retorno esperado. Foi feita uma revisão da literatura sobre o tema e desenvolvida uma pesquisa qualitativa de natureza fenomenológica voltada para o estudo de formas e variações do fenômeno estudado em vez de suas causas e conseqüências. O estudo de caso foi caracterizado como histórico-organizacional e investigou a implementação de um projeto de educação à distância. Concluiu-se que, tanto a TI desempenhou um papel de extremo valor estratégico, quanto o retorno superou em muito as expectativas originais. Esta dissertação pretende contribuir para o aprofundamento e a expansão das pesquisas sobre as possibilidades estratégicas da utilização da TI. / Salvador

Submitted by Marcos André Fernandes Spósito (mafsposito@gmail.com) on 2018-06-13T05:43:15Z No. of bitstreams: 2 TeseSpositoFinal.pdf: 19863748 bytes, checksum: a2456b54fd243f1e9685e0b51e538bcb (MD5) Folha de Aprovação - Sposito.pdf: 1078404 bytes, checksum: 240e924881898cfb4307dc8b364fc3bd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2018-06-15T12:29:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 TeseSpositoFinal.pdf: 19863748 bytes, checksum: a2456b54fd243f1e9685e0b51e538bcb (MD5) Folha de Aprovação - Sposito.pdf: 1078404 bytes, checksum: 240e924881898cfb4307dc8b364fc3bd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2018-06-15T12:36:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 TeseSpositoFinal.pdf: 19863748 bytes, checksum: a2456b54fd243f1e9685e0b51e538bcb (MD5) Folha de Aprovação - Sposito.pdf: 1078404 bytes, checksum: 240e924881898cfb4307dc8b364fc3bd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-15T12:36:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 TeseSpositoFinal.pdf: 19863748 bytes, checksum: a2456b54fd243f1e9685e0b51e538bcb (MD5) Folha de Aprovação - Sposito.pdf: 1078404 bytes, checksum: 240e924881898cfb4307dc8b364fc3bd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-23 / FAPEAM - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / IT has been gaining importance for organizations as it plays a strategic role, not only supporting their business operations, but also enabling new strategies for organizations. Many studies emphasize that IT must be aligned with the business area and vice versa. Most organizations agree on the importance of strategic alignment between IT and business, but they have difficulty evaluating it. Theoretical models and alignment techniques often fail to capture the reality of organizations and a lot of these techniques are subjective and difficult to use. In this sense, this thesis proposes an approach for the evaluation and recommendation of improvements for the strategic alignment between IT and business in the organizations based on the administrative activities of its managers. As part of the research methodology, exploratory studies were carried out based on systematic reviews of the literature, from which it was possible to obtain an overview on influential models of alignment in the national context, on several constructs or concepts on the theme and also on how the Strategic alignment between IT and business has been studied by researchers. As a result of these procedures, an approach composed of three components was proposed: a conceptual model, a reference model and a method for the evaluation and recommendations for improvements for the strategic alignment between IT and business in organizations. Finally, the approach was evaluated using a survey, a focus groups applied to IT and business managers, e in a case of practical use by an organization. The results demonstrated that the approach has the viability to be used by them, being effective to evaluate and recommend improvements for the strategic alignment between IT and business in organizations. / A TI vem ganhando importância para as organizações na medida em que ela desempenha um papel estratégico, não só dando suporte a suas operações de negócios, mas também viabilizando novas estratégias para as organizações. Muitos estudos destacam que a TI deve estar alinhada com a área de negócios e vice-versa. Além do mais, a maioria das organizações concordam sobre a importância do alinhamento estratégico entre TI e negócios, mas tem dificuldade em avaliá-lo. Modelos teóricos e técnicas de alinhamento frequentemente falham em capturar a realidade das organizações e uma grande quantidade destas técnicas são subjetivas e difíceis de serem utilizadas. Neste sentido, esta tese propõe uma abordagem para a avaliação e recomendação de melhorias para o alinhamento estratégico entre TI e negócios nas organizações baseada nas atividades administrativas de seus gestores. Como parte da metodologia da pesquisa, foram realizados estudos exploratórios baseados em revisões sistemáticas de literatura, dos quais foi possível obter uma visão geral sobre influentes modelos de alinhamento no contexto nacional, sobre diversos construtos ou conceitos sobre o tema e, também, sobre como o alinhamento estratégico entre TI e negócios tem sido estudado pelos pesquisadores. Como resultado destes procedimentos foi proposta uma abordagem composta por três componentes: um modelo conceitual, um modelo de referência e um método para a avaliação e recomendações de melhorias para o alinhamento estratégico entre TI e negócios nas organizações. Por fim, a abordagem foi avaliada utilizando-se um survey, um “grupo focal” aplicado aos gestores de TI e negócios e um caso de utilização prática por uma organização. Os resultados demonstraram que a abordagem possui viabilidade para ser utilizada pelas organizações, sendo efetiva para avaliar e recomendar melhorias para o alinhamento estratégico entre TI e negócios.