The effectiveness of strategic information systems planning under environmental uncertainty

Researchers have suggested that more extensive strategic information systems planning (SISP) in an uncertain environment produces greater planning success. Managers must decide whether, and if so when, to perform such SISP. Our study tested the effect of SISP phases on planning success in more and less uncertain environments.A questionnaire assessed SISP in terms of strategic awareness, situation analysis, strategy conception, strategy formulation, and strategy implementation planning phases. It inquired about environmental uncertainty as dynamism, heterogeneity, and hostility. Finally, it measured SISP success as a composite of alignment, analysis, cooperation, and capabilities. One hundred and sixty-one IS executives provided data in a postal survey.More extensive strategy formulation uniformly predicted successful planning in more uncertain environments, whereas strategic awareness generally predicted it in less uncertain ones. Strategy conception predicted it in neither more nor less uncertain environments. More extensive planning is thus not uniformly successful in either environment but depends on the nature of the uncertainty.     

The Impact of Leadership Orientation on Strategic Information System Planning Processes,with an Application to Libyan Organizations

The planning stage in the development of an information system (IS) is important for IS/business alignment. Accordingly, academics and practitioners in both developed and developing countries are concerned about the impact of leadership orientation on strategic IS planning (SISP). The focus of this research is to identify the nature of the relationship between leadership orientations and IS planning approaches in the context of Libyan organizations. To investigate this relationship, a postal survey was conducted to collect data from 117 executives responsible for IS planning. The questionnaire asked about leadership values and SISP approaches using multi-item, multi-scaled questions. The results show that “controlling” and “competing” leadership orientations have a positive direct effect on all SISP approaches. Coordinator leadership orientations exhibited the highest positive association with rational, adaptable, and intuitive SISP approaches. The results of this research will have important implications for Libyan organizations, especially as they attempt to rebuild the country's economy after the Libyan revolution. These implications are discussed in detail in the paper.     

CSFs and sources of assistance and expertise in strategic IS planning: a Singapore perspective

Strategic information systems (IS) planning is not an easy task and knowing which critical areas to manage certainly enhances IS planning success. Studies of critical success factors (CSFs) usually dealt with specific systems or management technique implementation, such as manufacturing resource planning (MRP) and total quality management (TQM). There exists little empirical research on CSFs per se in strategic IS planning. This paper is an effort to enhance existing knowledge on how strategic IS planning should be effectively managed. Using data from a survey on IS planning conducted in 1996 by the National University of Singapore, we identified and rank-ordered the CSFs in strategic IS planning in the Singapore context. We also examined the sources of assistance and expertise that companies undertaking IS planning in Singapore can tap.     

Successful strategic information systems planning

Abstract. Strategic information systems planning (SISP) is the process of ensuring alignment between business plans and objectives and information systems plans and objectives and/or the process of identifying information systems which will provide the organization with a competitive edge. This paper distinguishes SISP from both tactical and operational information systems planning, discusses the reasons for management concern with SISP, summarizes problems which may be encountered with the planning process and resultant plant implementation and then focuses on the issue of SISP success. Specifically, success is considered not only in terms of how it may be achieved but also in terms of how it can be defined (i.e. what constitutes SISP success) and how SISP success can be measured. Specific research questions addressing the measurement of SISP success are identified.     

The impact of organizational commitment,senior management involvement,and team involvement on strategic information systems planning

Organizational commitment, senior management involvement, and team involvement are typically expected to have a positive impact on the achievement of strategic information systems planning (SISP) objectives. That is, more commitment and involvement should produce greater success. However, they might also have a quadratic impact, specifically an inverted-U relationship such that after they reach an optimum, the achievement of the objectives diminishes.A postal survey about planning practices and objectives produced usable data from 105 corporate information systems planners. Senior management involvement predicted the achievement of the objectives in a positive manner whereas organizational commitment predicted it in an inverted-U relationship. Future research should look more closely at these relationships. Planners should be more aware of the possibly detrimental effects of excessive planning.     

Rapid business and IT change: drivers for strategic information systems planning?

Today's organizations increasingly plan new information systems (IS) to better compete. Through such planning, they attempt to align their IS strategy and their business strategy. This study tested the impact of business and information technology (IT) change on strategic information systems planning (SISP) horizon, of horizon on the planning itself, and of the planning on the alignment of IS strategy and business strategy. A questionnaire defined business change, IT change, and alignment as multi-item scaled questions, and planning horizon as a single, nonscaled one. It defined a multi-item scaled SISP measure as both a second-order construct and as single-order constructs for its individual phases. A postal survey collected data from 161 IS executives. Constructs were extensively validated. The analysis used structural equation modeling, and surprisingly found that business change predicted longer SISP horizons, but IT change predicted neither longer nor shorter ones. Planning horizon predicted SISP itself (as a second-order construct and as all of its phases), and such planning (as a second-order construct, and as strategic awareness and strategy conception phases) predicted alignment of IS strategy and business strategy. These findings suggest that practitioners more carefully assess their own degree of caution in setting planning horizons in response to business and IT change. In fact, the findings suggest it may not be necessary for practitioners to shorten planning horizons in a rapidly changing environment.     

The impact of industry contextual factors on IT focus and the use of IT for competitive advantage

Only limited empirical evidence has confirmed the effectiveness of strategic information systems planning (SISP) and there is no evidence that investment in mission-critical systems leads to improved performance under conditions of environmental uncertainty and information intensity. This study tests the extent to which such contextual factors impact business dependence on IT and two SISP practices: IT participation in business planning and the alignment between the IT and the business plans. It also examines the influence of IT dependence and SISP on the use of IT for competitive advantage. Using structural equation modeling on postal survey data from 161 firms, it found a positive and significant impact of the contextual factors on business dependence on IT and the two SISP practices and between these factors and the use of IT for competitive advantage. Data also revealed significant differences between industry types and environmental uncertainty but not information intensity. Implications are discussed.     

Corporate mergers and the problems of IS integration

The process of integrating information systems (IS) during corporate mergers can be critical to their success. Factors that can support or impede the successful integration of IS include organizational and IS attributes, organizational merger management and IS integration activities. This study develops a conceptual framework for measuring IS integration success and identifies the factors influencing it. A field survey investigates the relationship between these factors and success. According to the results of our field survey of CIOs, prior merger experience, IS participation in merger planning, the quality of merger planning, the criteria used for setting IS integration priorities, and a high level of data sharing across applications appear to have a positive influence on the success of the IS integration. When changes that directly affect personnel have a significant impact, that impact seems to be mostly negative. Programming language incompatibilities also have a negative impact on IS integration success.     

战略信息系统规划研究述评

随着信息技术的不断发展,战略信息系统规划（SISP）已成为企业界和学术界共同关注的主题。讨论了战略信息系统规划的含义,从战略匹配、SISP方法、SISP效益三个方面评述了战略信息系统规划的研究现状,分析了存在的问题并指出了今后的研究方向。     

Case study: The effect of IS maturity on information systems strategic planning

We present a longitudinal study of the information systems strategic planning process (ISSP) within a large Australian organization and review the changes and developments that have taken place within this organization over a period of four years. We discuss ISSP with regard to its strategic relevance, factors affecting IS strategic planning, key issues in ISSP, the effects of infusion and diffusion levels, together with the effect of IS maturity on ISSP and ISSP on IS maturity. Our study shows that the adoption of ISSP methodologies has had numerous benefits within the organization.     

Overcoming Resistance to Strategic and Executive IS Planning and Implementation

Although strategic information systems planning (SISP) and executive information systems (EISs) have received much attention in the past few years, their reception has been mixed. Many companies agree that SISP and EISs are needed, but surprisingly few have adopted them. This column explores the reasons behind such reluctance and offers suggestions for MIS managers who wish to realize some of the benefits of SISP and EISs even though their companies are not ready to implement them.     

Assessing the impact of integrating business planning and IS planning

One of the key elements of strategic planning for information systems (IS) is the integration of IS planning (ISP) and business planning (BP). Although this issue has received significant attention in recent years, empirical research focusing specifically on it is still relatively sparse. Here, BP-ISP integration is considered in four ways (administrative, sequential, reciprocal, and full integration), reflecting various degrees of BP-ISP integration. The relationships between these and organizational impact (measured in terms of the extent of ISP problems and the extent of IS contributions to organizational performance) are investigated through the analysis of data gathered in a “matched pair” field survey of business planners and IS executives. The results empirically validate the importance of BP-ISP integration, since it was found to have a significant positive relationship with IS contributions to organization performance and a significant negative relationship to the extent of ISP problems.     

An integrated approach toward strategic information systems planning

Within the competitive global environment, information has become a key resource for increasing a corporation's competitiveness by changing the nature or conduct of business. Accordingly, corporations are now seeking a method for information systems planning to maximize their strategic effectiveness.Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) refers to the process of creating a portfolio for the implementation and use of IS to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of a corporation, so that it can achieve its objectives. An investigation of SISP, however, showed that only 24% of planned applications were actually developed (Int. J. Comput. Appl. Technol., 8 (1995), 61; MIS Quarterly, September (1988), 445). This figure clearly shows that enhancements are required for current SISP processes. In particular, this paper focuses on SISP methodologies, which provide support for overall SISP processes.The paper initially identifies four general SISP methodology problems: lack of support for Information Technology Architecture, under-emphasis on information technology opportunities, duration of SISP, and lack of support for business process reengineering. Next, it proposes an integrated SISP methodology which solves the above problems while retaining the advantageous qualities of current SISP methodologies. Finally, a case study is added to show how the methodology actually works in practice.     

Opportunistic strategy formulation for IS/IT planning

Existing models and frameworks for information systems and information technology (IS/IT) planning are not robust enough to explain or predict strategic gains and many organizations are wary of investing further in their information infrastructure. Because technology is not the only ingredient of success, a complete and rigorous reconsideration of the techniques, options and approaches to IS/IT planning linked to business strategy is needed. It is argued that this can only be achieved through consideration of the recent organizational processes involved for creating a successful IS/IT strategy. This paper reviews aspects of both the literature on business strategy and IS/IT planning and considers case examples from two organizations in which the contrasting outcomes from the same technical innovation illustrate the dynamics of opportunistic strategy formulation.     

How information-sharing values influence the use of information systems: An investigation in the business intelligence systems context

Although the constituents of information systems (IS) success and their relationships have been well documented in the business value of information technology (IT) and strategic IS literature, our understanding of how information-sharing values affect the relationships among IS success dimensions is limited. In response, we conduct a quantitative study of 146 medium and large firms that have implemented a business intelligence system in their operations. Our results highlight that in the business intelligence systems context information-sharing values are not directly linked to IT-enabled information use, yet they act as significant moderators of information systems success dimensions relationships.     

An empirical evaluation of stages of strategic information systems planning: patterns of process design and effectiveness

While much has been written about strategic information systems planning (SISP), two important aspects have been under-emphasized. The first is the planning process or how planning is accomplished. The second is planning evolution or how planning evolves as a learning system. Both perspectives can provide practical guidance on how organizations will change their planning process over time in an attempt to improve their effectiveness as well as leverage their investment in SISP. This paper draws on prior literature to identify key dimensions of SISP and its effectiveness. The evolution of these dimensions is studied as a three-stage model. The results provide an interesting insight into how planning evolves as organizations reconcile seemingly contradictory “rational” and “adaptive” dimensions of planning. This balanced approach to planning is shown to be more effective, providing strong implications for both research and practice.     

Quality of IS use

The importance of skills to use information systems (IS) seems to be well understood, but surprisingly only moderately studied. Research on IS adoption has concentrated mainly on the implementation and phases prior to implementation. Post-implementation behaviour has played a minor role. Further, post-implementation studies have concentrated more on usage and user satisfaction rather than the abilities required to use IS in an organizational context. Here we address the emergent issue of the skills to use IS. The research objective is to assess levels of skill in using microcomputer software packages and to understand the role of skills in an organizational context. To fulfill the research objective a case study has been conducted. The results suggest that IS abilities which support work might be at an alarmingly low level although IS usage seems to be active.     

Why do we trust new technology? A study of initial trust formation with organizational information systems

Recent trust research in the information systems (IS) field has described trust as a primary predictor of technology usage and a fundamental construct for understanding user perceptions of technology. Initial trust formation is particularly relevant in an IS context, as users must overcome perceptions of risk and uncertainty before using a novel technology. With initial trust in a more complex, organizational information system, there are a number of external determinants, trusting bases, that may explain trust formation and provide organizations with the needed levers to form or change individuals’ initial trust in technology. In this study, a research model of initial trust formation is developed and includes trusting bases, trusting beliefs, trusting attitude and subjective norm, and trusting intentions. Eight trusting base factors are assessed including personality, cognitive, calculative, and both technology and organizational factors of the institutional base. The model is empirically tested with 443 subjects in the context of initial trust in a national identity system (NID). The proposed model was supported and the results indicate that subjective norm and the cognitive–reputation, calculative, and organizational situational normality base factors significantly influence initial trusting beliefs and other downstream trust constructs. Factors from some of the more commonly investigated bases, personality and technology institutional, did not significantly affect trusting beliefs. The findings have strategic implications for agencies implementing e-government systems and organizational information systems in general.     

The relative success of alternative approaches to strategic information systems planning: an empirical analysis

Strategic information systems planning (SISP) is an exercise or ongoing activity that enables organisations to develop priorities for information systems development. It has been suggested that the ‘SISP approach’, a combination of method, process and implementation, is the most complete way of describing SISP activity. Based upon questionnaire responses from 267 IT Directors, four distinct approaches to SISP have been derived using cluster analysis. A comparison of these four approaches with five approaches of Earl, M.J., 1993. Experiences in SISP, MIS Quarterly, (March), 1–24, indicates that three bear strong similarities to the ‘organisational’, ‘business-led’, and ‘administrative’ approaches, whilst the fourth cluster is related to both Earl's ‘method-driven’ and ‘technological’ approaches. An analysis of the relationship between SISP approach and SISP success demonstrates that the ‘organisational approach’ is significantly more successful than the other three approaches.     

Exploring university perceptions of IS implementation and attributes of success: a case study of public universities in Thailand

ABSTRACT

This study aims to gain a better understanding of public university implementation of organizational information systems (IS). Mixed methods research was used, including initial exploration, telephone interviews, and a self-administered mail survey. The data were gathered from university personnel at 40 public universities in Thailand, and the research focused on the university student-registration systems (S-R). The study results highlight the different perceptions between two response groups: administrators and system users. The results show different perceptions of IS implementation and attributes that define IS implementation success. The results also serve as important suggestions that need to be recognized by administrators and practitioners for effectively planning the implementation of organizational IS in public universities.