Organisational structure’s influence on IT Alignment: The case of a public organisation

Abstract

IT alignment, even though extensively researched in the last decades, remains to be challenging. Previous studies are criticised for two reasons. First, the majority of the studies focus on the conceptual debate, while practical issues that have implications on IT alignment are overlooked. One of these issues is the influence of organisational structure on IT alignment. Second, studies in few organisational settings, namely private and commercial organisations, have resulted in findings that are not applicable for organisations in other sectors–public organisations. To address the gap in the literature, this study aims to explore the influence of formal and informal organisational structures on IT alignment in a public organisation. As public organisations are joining the trend of digital transformation, identifying appropriate organisational structure that foster IT alignment is an important and timely issue. The result of the case study, conducted in one Swedish municipality, revealed the influence of centralised organisational structure as well as three types of informal organisational structure—interpersonal relationships, professional networks, and cross- departmental relationships—on IT alignment. The findings could be used by leaders in public organisations to design an effective organisational structure that can improve IT alignment and its maturity.