Abstract

Although information systems (IS) scholars have long recognized that business-information technology alignment (BITA) is a dynamic process instead of a static end-state, our understanding of how senior managers’ behaviors and external environmental dynamism affect the dynamic evolution of BITA, especially at the strategic level, is still limited. Based on complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory, this paper regards BITA as a dynamic coevolutionary process and conducts a simulation study to investigate how different attributes and behavioral rules of business and IT managers influence the dynamic changes of BITA degree. Results indicate that business and IT managers with high cognitive capabilities can achieve a better degree of BITA. Mutual communication can offset their cognitive gap and deficiency. Environmental dynamism increases the fluctuation of the BITA coevolutionary process. Through the lens of CAS theory, this paper fills gaps regarding the dynamics of BITA, which makes significant contributions to both IS research and practice.

Comments

Paper Number 1148; Track Governance; Complete Paper

Download

Share

COinS
 

When commenting on articles, please be friendly, welcoming, respectful and abide by the AIS eLibrary Discussion Thread Code of Conduct posted here.