The Effects of Strategic Typology Model and Strategic Alignment on the Delivery Capability of an IT Organization

Abstract

Measuring the state of IT alignment with business strategy is gradually becoming less elusive but practical approaches continue to be difficult to propose and execute. The results of this study indicate that higher degrees of IT strategic alignment with business occurs in Prospector and Analyzer types. Given the context of the STM model and the inclination of business strategy to center on a single type, these two models are most effective in generating IT capability over time. Defender STM types tend to lead to lower IT capability and low levels of alignment. It is recommended that the concept of IT alignment is as a function of information technology management, and the idea of making alignment solely the responsibility of the Chief Information Officer (CIO), fails to reach the goals of alignment, which requires strategic direction from a business that matches a Prospector or Analyzer type.