Yolande Chan, Why haven't we mastered alignment? The Importance of the Informal Organization Structure, MIS Quarterly Executive, 1(2), June 2002, pp97-112
Executive Summary
A long-running challenge in both large and small enterprises has been aligning the information systems (IS) function/department with the enter-prise as a whole. This study examines the techniques that eight organiza-tions have used to both monitor and improve the alignment and perform-ance of their IS functions. We found that aligning IS and business strategies did, indeed, improve IS performance. However, the eight cases call into question the value of the business and IS aligning their formal organization structures; this type of alignment did not always improve IS performance. On the other hand, we found that informal organization structures played a far more important role than expected in improving IS performance
Younes Benslimane, Michel Plaisent, Prosper Bernard, Applying the Task-Technology Fit Model to WWW-based Procurement: Conceptualization and Measurement, Proceedings of HICSS'36, 2003
Abstract
This research examines the application of the task-technology fit (TTF) model to World Wide Web (WWW) usage for electronic commerce (EC) purposes. Conducted from corporate buyers perspective, this study assesses the extent to which Internet websites in general support the procurement process. The model suggests that a better fit between the tasks required during the procurement process and Internet websites functionalities leads to a higher level of WWW usage, which then leads to an improved performance for users. All relevant constructs are discussed. Scales used to measure them are then developed. Data collected from 110 corporate buyers from over 100 organizations operating in a wide range of industries helped assess the validity and reliability of the scales needed to test the soundness of the model. This paper presents the results from instrument validation.
Sulin Ba, Jan Stallaert, Andrew Whinston, Research Commentary: Introducing a 3rd Dimension in IS Design - The Case for Incentive Alignment, Information Systems Research, 12(3), September 2001, pp 225-239
Abstract
Prior research has generated considerable knowledge on information systems design from software engineering and user-acceptance perspectives.As organizational processes are increasingly embedded within information systems,one of the key considerations of many business processes organizational incentives should become an important dimension of any information systems design and evaluation,which we categorize as the third dimension: incentive alignment.Incentive issues have become important in many IS areas,including dis- tributed decision support systems (DSS),knowledge management,and e-business supply chain coordination.In this paper we outline why incentives are important in each of these areas and specify requirements for designing incentive-aligned information systems.We iden- tify and de ne important unresolved problems along the incentive-alignment dimension of information systems and present a research agenda to address them.