Keywords
Citation
(2013), "2012 Awards for Excellence", Journal of Systems and Information Technology, Vol. 15 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jsit.2013.36515aaa.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2012 Awards for Excellence
Article Type: 2012 Awards for Excellence From: Journal of Systems and Information Technology, Volume 15, Issue 1
The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for Journal of Systems and Information Technology
“Contingent dynamics of IS strategic alignment in small and medium-sized enterprises”
Margi LevyWarwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
Philip PowellSchool of Business, Economics and Informatics, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
Philip YettonAustralian School of Business, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Purpose – This paper seeks to understand how strategic information systems (IS) alignment takes place in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a qualitative and quantitative analysis of data from 27 cases.
Findings – A contingent model allows re-interpretation of earlier findings that appear to be inconsistent. First, benefit realisation depends on alignment between IS and business strategies. Second, IS investment is frequently limited to supporting operations and transactions. Third, organizations with more sophisticated IS tend to perform less successfully than those with less complex systems, the greatest alignment and highest performance are reported for systems to improve efficiency, and organizations that adopt a low-cost approach are unlikely to use IS strategically.
Research limitations/implications – The paper extends understanding of the contingent nature of SMEs' investment in, and use of, IS, and of the effect of market position on IS management. It provides guidelines by describing the dominant paths to alignment. The limitations are that the SME sample is not random, the scoring protocols rely on author coding, whether the research identifies cycles of alignment, alternative interpretations of path hierarchy, and if an SME's location uniquely defines its alignment path.
Originality/value – Performance is a function of the alignment between IS strategy and other business domains. However, prior research has focused on outcomes, rather than the processes by which alignment is developed. Using multiple case data, this paper investigates alignment in SMEs, explaining why different SMEs follow different paths to alignment. Four paths are identified, with the path chosen contingent on an SME's market position.
Keywords Information systems, Small to medium-sized enterprises, Strategic alignment
www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/13287261111135963
This article originally appeared in Volume 13 Number 2, 2011, pp. 106-24 Journal of Systems and Information Technology
The following article was selected for this year's Highly Commended Award
“Implementing open source software to conform to national policy”
Lizette Weilbach and Elaine Byrne
This article originally appeared in Volume 13 Number 3, 2011, Journal of Systems and Information Technology
Outstanding Reviewer
Dr Paul JonesBusiness School, University of Glamorgan, UK