Achieving strategic alignment: a decision-making perspective

Beyond studies related to the importance of strategic alignment between business strategy and IS strategy as well as establishing a number of enablers and inhibitors, there is a paucity of research on how organizations actually achieve strategic alignment. We conceptualize the process of achieving strategic alignment from a decision-making perspective by deductively drawing upon extant literature on strategic alignment and decision-making. Preliminary data collection from two case studies, out of four theoretically selected research sites, followed by data analysis based on analytic induction uncovers evidence in support of the conceptual framework. New insights reveal that the structure of the decision-making process inherent in achieving strategic alignment is shaped by organizational and decisional factors. In addition, the nature of the IT artifact and the availability of slack resources at the organizational level shape the rigor and the due-diligence associated with achieving strategic alignment, potentially suggesting the existence of additional decision-making routines.