Strategic alignment: the role of information & management systems in organisational performance: a study of the role of the information & management systems in the performance of 24 major organisations

Wood, Robin (1995) Strategic alignment: the role of information & management systems in organisational performance: a study of the role of the information & management systems in the performance of 24 major organisations. Doctoral thesis, University of London: London Business School.

Abstract

The research reported in this thesis investigates the role of information systems and management systems in business performance. The research objective is twofold: to establish which organisational factors (if any), explain the role of information systems and management systems in business performance, to provide managers with a practical diagnostic tool enabling them to identify and manage those factors found to be critical to improving business performance through information and management systems. Previous attempts to link business performance with information and management systems advocated the alignment of IS/IT strategies with those of the business, assuming that the appropriate information and management system strategy is simply an extension of the business's overall strategy and its efforts to adapt to its external environment. This research takes a different approach, focusing on the ability of an organisation to create and leverage distinctive knowledge, competencies and capabilities, and the role which IS/IT plays in the underlying processes of learning and adaptation. The need to strike a balance between learning and control in a specific business and its environment to generate superior performance is also highlighted Eight groups of variables were identified as key to the improvement of organisational performance through management and information systems: Environment type, Nature of the business, Focus of the organisation's mindset, Management style, Organ isational type and culture, Processes of control, Information and performance measures and, finally, Technologies for management systems (including IS/IT). (defined hereafter as "ENFMOPIT"). A strong correlation between the alignment of these "ENFMOPIT' variables and superior performance of the businesses in the research sample was found, and the implications of the interaction between these variables for alignment and superior performance established. A diagnostic method for displaying and interpreting alignment called "the wheel", was also developed and tested. The role of IS and the IT infrastructure in each organisation was extensively documented, together with senior management's views on their IS successes and failures. This narrative was used to explain the extent to which IS and IT could be considered to have contributed to the success or failure of each participant over a five year period, in the light of the degree of alignment between the wheel variables. This research lays a foundation for the investigation of the specific role of information and management systems in organisational performance, where previous attempts in the fields of information systems and management theory to explain this linkage succeeded only at the most aggregate of levels. The wheel diagnosis also provides a useful framework for senior management teams to diagnose their own organisation and systems, in order to improve: the alignment between the eight spokes of the wheel in their organisation, their information and management systems payoff and organisational performance. Further research in this area can now build upon these foundations to enable management teams to use information and management systems both to improve current performance and enhance future strategic potential.