The Impact of IT Flexibility on Strategic Alignment (with Focus on Export)

Abstract

Strategic alignment or the fit between information technology (IT) and business strategy remains a key topic of concern among managers worldwide. Change has always being considered the foremost challenge affecting strategic alignment. Planning for alignment in uncertain and dynamic environments is fraught with risk as organizations seek to understand how much flexibility to add to their IT infrastructure so as to maintain consistently high levels of alignment. Reviewing the literature showed that there is a positive relationship between IT infrastructure flexibility and strategic alignment with strategic information systems planning (SISP) serving as a moderator of this relationship. Additionally, according to literature on exporting area and logical arguments we proposed that export performance can moderators the link between IT flexibility and strategic alignment. Also, studies results emphasize the need for organizations to use SISP to consistently monitor the relationship between IT flexibility and alignment. Doing so during periods of increased change in dynamic and uncertain environments reduces the risk of being ensnared by rigidity traps that could transform IT into an inhibitor rather than an enabler of change.