The IS Organization of the Future: Four Scenarios for 2020

Four scenarios for the IS organization of 2020 are described, based on differing assumptions about two drivers: the advances in the reliability of international telecommunications and the value placed on computerization in businesses and society.     

The Future IS Organization in a Flat World

ABSTRACT

The business world is becoming increasingly “flat” with regard to access to global markets and a global workforce. New operational priorities are emerging that require new IS capabilities. The linkage between these operational shifts and the changes required by an IS organization to develop new IS capabilities for a flattening world are identified and discussed.     

The Future IS Organization in a Flat World

The business world is becoming increasingly “flat” with regard to access to global markets and a global workforce. New operational priorities are emerging that require new IS capabilities. The linkage between these operational shifts and the changes required by an IS organization to develop new IS capabilities for a flattening world are identified and discussed.     

Mobility, Business Process Management, Software Sourcing, and Maturity Model Trends: Propositions for the IS Organization of the Future

In this article, I argue that increased mobility, a continued emphasis on business process management, expanded options for the sourcing of enterprise system software, and IS maturity models are trends that will require new capabilities and skills for tomorrow's IS organization.     

Mobility,Business Process Management,Software Sourcing,and Maturity Model Trends: Propositions for the IS Organization of the Future

ABSTRACT

In this article, I argue that increased mobility, a continued emphasis on business process management, expanded options for the sourcing of enterprise system software, and IS maturity models are trends that will require new capabilities and skills for tomorrow's IS organization.     

The IS Organization of the Future: Impacts of Global Sourcing

Global sourcing will continue to have a major impact on IS organizations. Fourteen “new” and traditional skills that IS organizations will need in tomorrow's global sourcing environment are highlighted.     

The IS Organization of the Future: Impacts of Global Sourcing

ABSTRACT

Global sourcing will continue to have a major impact on IS organizations. Fourteen “new” and traditional skills that IS organizations will need in tomorrow's global sourcing environment are highlighted.     

The IS Organization of the Future: The IT Talent Challenge

ABSTRACT

Current projections are that the demands for IS workers in the U.S. are on the verge of exceeding the supply, and IS managers are reporting increased concerns for the recruitment and retention of IT staff. The authors argue that industry and universities need to take actions today to address the projected shortfalls, and offer some guidelines for recruiting and retaining IT professionals.     

The IS Organization of the Future: The IT Talent Challenge

Current projections are that the demands for IS workers in the U.S. are on the verge of exceeding the supply, and IS managers are reporting increased concerns for the recruitment and retention of IT staff. The authors argue that industry and universities need to take actions today to address the projected shortfalls, and offer some guidelines for recruiting and retaining IT professionals.     

The Effect of IT Governance Maturity on IT Governance Performance

There are several best practice based frameworks that detail effective arrangements for the internal structure of an IT organization. Although it is reasonable that there is a correlation between the quality of the internal structure of an IT organization – labeled IT governance maturity, and the external impact of the same IT organization on the business – labeled IT governance performance, this has not been validated. The results, based on 35 case studies, confirm the hypotheses of a positive correlation between IT governance maturity and IT governance performance. Among IT processes described in 34 references, the internal structure of the IT organization, clearly defined organizational structures and relationships, mature quality management, and cost allocation show the strongest positive correlation to IT governance performance. The maturity of project management and service level management, as well as performance and capacity management, show almost no correlation to IT governance performance. The findings can be used to improve current frameworks for IT governance.     

A study of IS assets,IS ambidexterity,and IS alignment: the dynamic managerial capability perspective

This study aims to explore how IT-business alignment can be better achieved. Drawing on the dynamic capability view, information systems (IS) alignment and IS ambidexterity are theorized as IT departments’ ordinary capability and dynamic managerial capability, respectively. Four IS assets are identified as antecedents of both IS ambidexterity and IS alignment. A research model with 14 hypotheses is tested with a sample of 162 manufacturing firms. The PLS analysis shows that IS ambidexterity can increase IS alignment in terms of operational support and that the four IS assets can affect IS alignment directly or indirectly. Implications for research and practice are provided.     

The Impact of Communication between CEOs and CIOs on their Shared Views of the Current and Future Role of IT

This research compares the views of CEOs and CIOs in the same organizations about the relative richness of four communications media (face-to-face, e-mail, business memo, telephone), and the current and future roles of IT in their organizations. Overall, CEOs are found to be more optimistic about the expected impacts of future IT projects. Organizations in which there was greater shared vision about the future role of IT also reported more frequent CEO/CIO communications utilizing communications channels perceived to be richer: face-to-face and e-mail.     

Using Scenarios to Understand the Frontiers of IS

As we arrive at the millenium, the literature is filled with predictions and forecasts of the state of affairs in the 21st century. Most of these forecasts are single point prognoses. This paper uses scenario-building ideas to describe a richer set of possible states of Information Systems in the year 2010. The scenarios are integrative and consider a set of possible events and their impacts. Two major driving forces: (1) telecommunications development and (2) social acceptance of information systems (IS) are assumed to define the scenario space. Based on these driving forces, four scenarios are created: Utopian, Dystopian, Status Quo, and Technology. The Utopian (ubiquitous telecommunications, high social acceptance of IS) and Dystopian (limited gains in telecommunications, low social acceptance of IS) scenarios are described in detail. The scenarios provide a basis for assessing the frontiers of information systems.     

CEO/CIO mutual understanding,strategic alignment,and the contribution of IS to the organization

Mutual understanding between the CEO and CIO is thought to facilitate the alignment of an organization's IS with its business strategy, and thereby enhance the contribution of the IS to business performance. A survey of 202 pairs of CEOs and CIOs was taken to investigate the relationships between them. Mutual understanding was measured as the role of IS in the organization, using the perspectives of both executives. Strategic alignment was measured as the fit between the CEO's assessment of eight STROBE dimensions and the CIO's assessment of the analogous STROEPIS dimensions; both the CEO and CIO evaluated IS contribution. Mutual understanding of the role of IT led to seven alignment dimensions whereas six alignment dimensions led to IS contributions. Our study extended the theory of IT strategic alignment and provided direction for CEOs and CIOs interested in improving the IS contribution of their organization.     

Thematic orientation of the ISJ within a semantic space of IS research

This study examines research published in the first 24 years of Information Systems Journal's (ISJ) publication history using a thematic space of all information systems (IS) research as the backdrop. To that end, abstracts from all contributing articles published in eight prominent IS journals in the period 1991–2014 were analysed to extract a latent semantic space of five broad research areas. A two‐dimensional projection of the results was used to create a two‐by‐two map, where one dimension represents the European vs. North American style of IS research and another dimension represents a micro vs. macro level of IS research. The ISJ is positioned in the ‘micro and European school’ quadrant. Over the course of the journal's first 24 years, research in the ISJ started with a relative focus on the IT artefact and IS development and gradually moved towards a more balanced position that includes a considerable amount of research on IT for teamwork and collaboration, as well as on IT and individuals.     

Bridging the gap between the IS organization and the rest of the business: plotting a route

Abstract. Much of the research literature advocates a strong information system (IS) organization-business relationship if the IS organization and, in particular, technology is to make a value-added contribution to the business. Although research also highlights that in many organizations this relationship is poor, little guidance is provided as to how this 'gap' might be bridged. The research reported in this paper is a longitudinal study of three organizations that are actively seeking to bridge the gap, improve the relationship and consequently the value that they derive from their IS investments. A process model containing six stages, illustrating the route to creating high performance from IS, is constructed from cross-case analysis of the collected data. The paper ends with conclusions and implications.     

Elucidating the role of IT/IS assessment and resource allocation in IT/IS performance in hospitals

Although similar to firms in other industries that strive to increase their operational efficiency by implementing IT/IS, hospitals face difficulties in obtaining the corresponding benefits of investing in IT/IS. This study investigates the relations among IT/IS performance, IT maturity, IT/IS assessment, IT/IS resource allocation, and user satisfaction in hospitals. IT/IS performance in hospitals is evaluated using a designed questionnaire, along with a case study undertaken to discuss IT/IS assessment and the effect of IT/IS on hospital procedures. The analysis results indicate that hospitals have a higher IT maturity, stronger intention to implement IT/IS assessment, and better IT/IS resource allocation capabilities than firms in other industries. Moreover, both IT/IS assessment and user satisfaction affect IT/IS performance in hospitals.     

Achieving IT-Business Strategic Alignment via Enterprise-Wide Implementation of Balanced Scorecards

ABSTRACT

IT-business alignment remains one of the top issues of IS managers. This article presents a case study in which four key elements of IT-business alignment — integrated planning, effective communication, active relationship management, and institutionalized culture of alignment — were enhanced by the enterprise-wide implementation of an established strategic management tool, the balanced scorecard.