Abstract

Background: In recent years, traditional campuses have undergone a progressive evolution into smart campuses, driven by advancements in digital infrastructure and service models. Across India, national initiatives have accelerated such transformation in higher education. However, challenges such as poor interoperability, weak governance, and limited leadership reveal misalignment between technology and institutional goals. While successful transformation in academic institutions depends on aligning IT (information technology) resources with institutional objectives, existing research offers limited insight into how this alignment unfolds across organisational levels, which motivates this inquiry.

Method: Drawing on the Strategic Alignment Maturity Model (SAMM) as a theoretical framework, this study adopts a qualitative case study approach. Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders at strategic, operational, and individual levels at a private university in India were complemented by multi-source documentary evidence to support triangulation. Thematic content analysis was applied to explore how business-IT alignment (BITA) is enacted across multiple organizational levels.

Results: The analysis showed that BITA in smart campuses is not uniform but varies meaningfully across strategic, operational, and individual levels. At the strategic level, governance structures played a central role in guiding alignment. At the operational level, effective communication and coordination between business and IT functions were critical. At the individual level, skills that foster adaptability and innovation were found to play a key role in promoting IT-business alignment. Furthermore, through contextual adaptation, we extend SAMM indigenously by incorporating smart campus-specific attributes.

Conclusion: This study extends extant BITA contributions by applying and adapting SAMM in a smart campus context, particularly within Indian higher education. It contributes to a structured, level-specific understanding by illustrating how alignment considerations manifested in the case setting. The findings provide actionable insights for leaders across Indian higher education institutions seeking to align digital initiatives with educational objectives and drive campus-wide transformation in a representative context.

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