Strategic Alignment and Its Antecedents: A Critical Analysis of Constructs and Relations in the International and Brazilian Literature

Abstract

In this study, we conduct a review of the international and the Brazilian literature on business-IT strategic alignment and present a critical analysis of fundamental problems observed in the field. We argue that conceptual shortcomings, such as the lack of clarity in constitutive definitions of the alignment construct and the plethora of often overlapping antecedents discussed in the literature, restrain systematic knowledge development in the field. We propose a conceptual definition of business-IT strategic alignment, striving for clarity and parsimony, and highlight its distinction from the definition of operational alignment. The antecedents in the literature are further analyzed so as to formulate a synthetic conceptual model for the nomological network that links these constructs. We conclude the article stressing that additional theoretical and empirical endeavors regarding business-IT alignment are needed, emphasizing that such efforts should be conducted with greater attention to the issues discussed in this review.

KEYWORDS:

• Strategic Alignment
• Literature Review
• Construct Validation

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Valter de Assis Moreno

Valter de Assis Moreno, Jr. is Associate Professor of Information Systems and Chair of the Undergraduate Program in Business Administration of Faculdades Ibmec, in Rio de Janeiro. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Computer and Information Systems, in 2001. Previously, he earned a BS degree in Electronics Engineering from Instituto Tecnólogico de Aeronáutica (ITA), and a MS degree in Industrial Engineering from Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF). Dr. Moreno has extensive experience in the IS industry as a consultant in systems analysis and design. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses both in the US and in Brazil, on topics related to IT management, business process redesign, and qualitative and quantitative data analysis. His research interests include IT-business strategic and operational alignment, IT adoption and effective use, and social issues related to the introduction of new technologies in the workplace.

Flavia de Souza Costa Neves Cavazotte

Flavia de Souza Costa Neves Cavazotte is Associate Professor of Management and Director of the Leadership Studies Program of Faculdades IBMEC, in Rio de Janeiro. She received her Ph.D. in Business Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her current research interests include organizational leadership; identification and citizenship behaviors in organizations; diversity, discrimination and cooperation in work groups; social issues of IT development and use.

Daniel de Oliveira Valente

Daniel de Oliveira Valente earned a BS in Computer Engineering from Pontificia Universidade Católica (PUC) and a Master degree in Business Administration from Faculdades Ibmec, in Rio de Janeiro. He has held different positions in areas related to IT project management and software development in large Brazilian companies and government agencies. Recently, he has joined Serviço Federal de Processamento de Dados (SERPRO), where he has been involved in various systems analysis and design projects for the Brazilian government.