MISQ
RESEARCH ARTICLE
TOWARD A NEW THEORY OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF
1
THE IT FUNCTION IN ORGANIZATIONS
Manon G. Guillemette
Faculty of Management, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 University Boulevard,
Sherbrooke, Quebec CANADA J1K 2R1 {manon.guillemette@usherbrooke.ca}
Guy Paré
HEC Montréal, 3000 Côte-Ste-Catherine Road,
Montréal, Quebec CANADA H3T 2A7 {guy.pare@hec.ca}
Because changes in organizations and information technology environments are enduring, the alignment of the IT function with business objectives must not only be understood, but constantly renewed and adjusted. This is amply reflected in recent surveys of CIOs, which consistently suggest that the notion of alignment is a top challenge and management priority. Many CIOs face a double challenge when addressing the issue of alignment: they must first clarify top management’s expectations and assumptions about IT, which may be contradictory, and then understand their implications for how the IT department should be managed (i.e., translate the function’s strategic mission into an IT management model that adds value to the organization).
The characterization of the IT function has constituted a central and growing subject of research in the information systems field. Although the extant literature has much to teach us, knowledge in this area is nevertheless fragmented and has not been properly integrated. In response to these limitations, this study proposes and tests a new theory of the contribution of the IT function. Specifically, our objective is to offer an explanation of the contribution of the IT function in organizations with a typology of ideal profiles.
A field study was conducted in 24 large Canadian companies in order to validate a set of research propositions.
Our results first suggest that there are five distinct “ideal” IT management profiles in organizations and each of these profiles tends to focus on specific sources of value. Next, we observed that IT functions
TOWARD A NEW THEORY OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF
1
THE IT FUNCTION IN ORGANIZATIONS
Manon G. Guillemette
Faculty of Management, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 University Boulevard,
Sherbrooke, Quebec CANADA J1K 2R1 {manon.guillemette@usherbrooke.ca}
Guy Paré
HEC Montréal, 3000 Côte-Ste-Catherine Road,
Montréal, Quebec CANADA H3T 2A7 {guy.pare@hec.ca}
Because changes in organizations and information technology environments are enduring, the alignment of the IT function with business objectives must not only be understood, but constantly renewed and adjusted. This is amply reflected in recent surveys of CIOs, which consistently suggest that the notion of alignment is a top challenge and management priority. Many CIOs face a double challenge when addressing the issue of alignment: they must first clarify top management’s expectations and assumptions about IT, which may be contradictory, and then understand their implications for how the IT department should be managed (i.e., translate the function’s strategic mission into an IT management model that adds value to the organization).
The characterization of the IT function has constituted a central and growing subject of research in the information systems field. Although the extant literature has much to teach us, knowledge in this area is nevertheless fragmented and has not been properly integrated. In response to these limitations, this study proposes and tests a new theory of the contribution of the IT function. Specifically, our objective is to offer an explanation of the contribution of the IT function in organizations with a typology of ideal profiles.
A field study was conducted in 24 large Canadian companies in order to validate a set of research propositions.
Our results first suggest that there are five distinct “ideal” IT management profiles in organizations and each of these profiles tends to focus on specific sources of value. Next, we observed that IT functions
References: Agarwal, R., and Sambamurthy, V. 2002. “Principles and Models for Organizing the IT Function,” MIS Quarterly Executive (1:1), pp. 1-16. Brown, C. V., McLean, E. R., and Straub, D. W. 1996. “Partnering Roles of the IS Executive,” Information Systems Management (13:2), pp. Clark, C. E., Cavanaugh, N. C., Brown, C. V., and Sambamurthy, V. 1997. “Building Change-Readiness Capabilities in the IS Organization: Insights From the Bell Atlantic Experience,” MIS Quarterly (21:4), pp Cross, J., Earl, M. J., and Sampler, J. L. 1997. “Transformation of the IT Function at British Petroleum,” MIS Quarterly (21:4), pp. 401-423. Curley, M. 2006, “The IT Transformation at Intel,” MIS Quarterly Executive (5:4), pp. 155-168. Earl, M. J., and Sampler, J. L. 1998. “Market Management to Transform the IT Organization,” Sloan Management Review (39:4), pp. 9-17. Feeny, D. F., and Willcocks, L. P. 1998a. “Core IS Capabilities for Exploiting Information Technology,” Sloan Management Review (39:3), pp Feeny, D. F., and Willcocks, L. P. 1998b. “Re-designing the IS Function Around Core Capabilities,” Long Range Planning (31:3), pp. Peppard, J., and Ward, J. 1999. “Mind the Gap: Diagnosing the Relationship Between the IT Organization and the Rest of the Business,” Journal of Strategic Information Systems (8:1), pp Rockart, J. F., Earl, M. J., and Ross, J. W. 1996. “Eight Imperatives for the New IT Organization,” Sloan Management Review (38:1), pp. Ross, J. W. 2003. “Creating a Strategic IT Architecture Competency: Learning in Stages,” MIS Quarterly Executive (2:1), pp. 31-43. Vaast, E., and Levina, N. 2006. “Multiple Faces of Codification: Organizational Redesign in an IT Organization,” Organization Science (17:2), pp Venkatraman, N. 1997. “Beyond Outsourcing: Managing IT Resources as a Value Center,” Sloan Management Review (38:3), pp. 51-64.