Organizational Adaptability Influenced by Practice Strategy, Environmental Dynamism, and Absorptive Capacity

The adaptability of organizations to their environment has always been a key concern in both organizational theory and management practice. Different from the single perspective of previous studies, this research adopts an integrated, outside-in perspective. Employing an agent-based simulation model (ASM) and a multiple regression model (MRM), we examine the impact of the intensity of exploitative and exploratory practice on organizational adaptability, as well as the moderating effect of environmental dynamism and organizational absorptive capacity. The results of the research show that (1) the stable environment prefers organizations with a practice strategy of high exploitation and low exploration; (2) environmental dynamism inhibits the impact of both exploitative and exploratory practices on organizational adaptability; and (3) organizational absorptive capacity significantly reinforces the link between the intensity of exploitative practice, as well as exploratory practice, and organizational adaptability. The study investigates the external alignment of organizational exploratory and exploitative practices with environmental dynamism and internal fit with absorptive capacity. The findings provide new insight into the question of how organizations can resist the erosion of environmental dynamism through strategic alignment and capacity development.

Tackling organizational innovativeness through strategic orientation: strategic alignment and moderating role of strategic flexibility

PurposeThe purpose of the research was to examine the effect of strategic orientation on organizational innovativeness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Moreover, in order to highlight the constructive role of strategic orientation, the study also observes the intervening role of strategic alignment and moderating role of strategic flexibility.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 209 owner/managers of SMEs through self-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, correlation and hierarchical regression were used for testing the study hypotheses.FindingsResults revealed that strategic orientation is positively related to SMEs innovativeness. Strategic alignment mediates between the strategic orientation and innovativeness link. Furthermore, the findings also established that the association between strategic orientation and strategic alignment is stronger when SMEs are strategically flexible.Originality/valueOrganizational innovativeness is of vital importance for SMEs strength, especially in the context of developing economies. Although researchers have acknowledged several antecedents of SMEs innovativeness, however, it is still unclear how strategic orientation influences organizational innovativeness. Moreover, the study focuses on another important element of strategic alignment through the integration of goals and strategies to achieve innovativeness.

Linking Customization Capability with CRM Technology Adoption and Strategic Alignment

Building on contingency theory and the input–process–output model, this paper investigates the relationships between customer relationship management (CRM) technology adoption, customization capability, CRM effectiveness, and strategic alignment. By surveying senior managers of customized service projects from 288 information technology service firms in Taiwan, we find that CRM technology adoption has a positive relationship with customization capacity, which is, in turn, positively correlated with CRM effectiveness with the correlation being moderated by strategic alignment. This study suggests that CRM marketing and operational technologies can enhance CRM effectiveness via customization capability. This study also uncovers approaches to achieving enhancement.

The impact of environmental uncertainty on business–IT alignment: A study in Sri Lanka

<p>Despite the widely held belief that organisational performance can be enhanced through the alignment of information technology (IT) and business strategy, alignment remains a top concern for IT and business executives. This means that the challenges of attaining strategic alignment have not been overcome. Environmental uncertainty, in particular, is one of the key challenges to achieving strategic alignment. Organisations continually adapt their strategies due to rapid changes in the market, technology and regulations. Either the business strategy changes and the IT strategy has to adapt to remain in alignment, or new IT emerges and business and IT strategies have to be revised to seize opportunities. Changes in the regulations can also have a significant impact on organisational strategy. Uncertainty increases the difficulty of understanding the environment and places executives in a challenging situation with regard to strategic decision making. It is thus important for executives to develop an understanding of the effect of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. This issue has received little attention in the alignment literature. The literature presents mixed arguments on the effect of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. There is literature which explain the implications of the antecedents of strategic alignment; however, it does not consider these antecedents in the context of a highly uncertain environment. Hence, the objective of this research is to identify the extent of the impact of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment and to determine how this affects the impact of other antecedents. This research adopts a post-positivist approach. Using the perspectives of the resource-based theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm, a conceptual model is presented which examines the impact of antecedents and environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. Three antecedents – shared domain knowledge, relationship management, and prior IS success – were selected as key antecedents. Environmental uncertainty was also proposed as an antecedent. This research assumes that the effect of these antecedents on strategic alignment is mediated by two managerial practices: communication and planning connection. Based on data collected from 212 organisations in Sri Lanka, the conceptual model is tested against the research objective. As a developing country, Sri Lanka has a highly turbulent environment and thus provides a suitable setting in which to examine the impact of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. Partial Least Squares structural equation modelling is used to test the conceptual model. The results reveal that environmental uncertainty has a positive impact on strategic alignment and that it is mediated by managerial practices. All the antecedents were also found to have a positive effect on managerial practices. As a managerial practice, planning connection has the stronger influence on strategic alignment, while communication plays a contingent role in the alignment process. Moreover, organisation size also has an influence on the alignment process. The relative influence of antecedents and environmental uncertainty differs between SMEs and large organisations. This suggests that the mechanisms used to attain strategic alignment vary by organisational size. The findings contribute to the literature and practice of strategic alignment in several ways. One of the contributions is the introduction of environmental uncertainty as an antecedent to strategic alignment and the identification of the influence of three sources of uncertainty: market uncertainty, technological uncertainty and regulatory uncertainty. Another contribution is a theoretical explanation of the strategic alignment process using the resource-based theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm. Further, this research extends the validity of the alignment process to a developing country context. From the practitioners’ point of view, this research provides valuable guidance about aligning IT strategy with business strategies in an uncertain environment. Moreover, this research provides prescriptive insights for attaining business–IT alignment for both SMEs and large organisations.</p>

The impact of environmental uncertainty on business–IT alignment: A study in Sri Lanka

<p>Despite the widely held belief that organisational performance can be enhanced through the alignment of information technology (IT) and business strategy, alignment remains a top concern for IT and business executives. This means that the challenges of attaining strategic alignment have not been overcome. Environmental uncertainty, in particular, is one of the key challenges to achieving strategic alignment. Organisations continually adapt their strategies due to rapid changes in the market, technology and regulations. Either the business strategy changes and the IT strategy has to adapt to remain in alignment, or new IT emerges and business and IT strategies have to be revised to seize opportunities. Changes in the regulations can also have a significant impact on organisational strategy. Uncertainty increases the difficulty of understanding the environment and places executives in a challenging situation with regard to strategic decision making. It is thus important for executives to develop an understanding of the effect of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. This issue has received little attention in the alignment literature. The literature presents mixed arguments on the effect of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. There is literature which explain the implications of the antecedents of strategic alignment; however, it does not consider these antecedents in the context of a highly uncertain environment. Hence, the objective of this research is to identify the extent of the impact of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment and to determine how this affects the impact of other antecedents. This research adopts a post-positivist approach. Using the perspectives of the resource-based theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm, a conceptual model is presented which examines the impact of antecedents and environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. Three antecedents – shared domain knowledge, relationship management, and prior IS success – were selected as key antecedents. Environmental uncertainty was also proposed as an antecedent. This research assumes that the effect of these antecedents on strategic alignment is mediated by two managerial practices: communication and planning connection. Based on data collected from 212 organisations in Sri Lanka, the conceptual model is tested against the research objective. As a developing country, Sri Lanka has a highly turbulent environment and thus provides a suitable setting in which to examine the impact of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. Partial Least Squares structural equation modelling is used to test the conceptual model. The results reveal that environmental uncertainty has a positive impact on strategic alignment and that it is mediated by managerial practices. All the antecedents were also found to have a positive effect on managerial practices. As a managerial practice, planning connection has the stronger influence on strategic alignment, while communication plays a contingent role in the alignment process. Moreover, organisation size also has an influence on the alignment process. The relative influence of antecedents and environmental uncertainty differs between SMEs and large organisations. This suggests that the mechanisms used to attain strategic alignment vary by organisational size. The findings contribute to the literature and practice of strategic alignment in several ways. One of the contributions is the introduction of environmental uncertainty as an antecedent to strategic alignment and the identification of the influence of three sources of uncertainty: market uncertainty, technological uncertainty and regulatory uncertainty. Another contribution is a theoretical explanation of the strategic alignment process using the resource-based theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm. Further, this research extends the validity of the alignment process to a developing country context. From the practitioners’ point of view, this research provides valuable guidance about aligning IT strategy with business strategies in an uncertain environment. Moreover, this research provides prescriptive insights for attaining business–IT alignment for both SMEs and large organisations.</p>

The FunCaps Framework: Reconceptualizing Operational Alignment

Background and purpose: Operational alignment, the alignment between business processes (BPs) and information systems (ISs), is a well-acknowledged requirement for improving business efficiency. However, a lack of sound foundation for the practical implementation of operational alignment remains in the existing literature. This is, in part, because previously developed coarse-grained strategic alignment models for operational alignment have overlooked the differences between strategic and operational levels of alignment. Additionally, while some studies have recognized these differences, they remain limited. This is partly due to their negligence of the IS’s socio-technical nature or their focus on identifying the social antecedents and their effect on operational alignment, without considering how ISs meet the business requirements in achieving operational alignment. To overcome this potential lack of applicability, the purpose of this paper is to determine the right level of abstraction for describing BPs and ISs and reconceptualizing operational alignment. Methodology: This paper conducts empirical research using a grounded theory (GT), centering on semi-structured interviews with 28 experts involved in the Iranian top public universities. Data were analyzed by using MAXQDA software. Results: The resulting FunCaps framework specifies the required combinations of BP functions and IS capabilities for operational alignment. Conclusion: FunCaps reconceptualizes operational alignment based on operational planning and reciprocal integration and establishes the broader picture by considering an IS as a socio-technical system.