Developing Dynamic IT Capabilities – A Systems Perspective

Many organisations still have difficulty obtaining value from their IT spend. The literature indicates that two ways of improving this situation is via better strategic business/IS alignment and the development of a dynamic IS capability. It is argued that the development of these skills occurs within a complex, dynamic social system and have the characteristics of wicked problems and are poorly investigated using the dominant IS research paradigm. A systems perspective demonstrates why many organisations are unable to improve strategic alignment and develop dynamic capabilities. Feedback within the social system inhibits changes in managerial and organisational behaviour. It is demonstrated that the effect of feedback loops within the work environment means that simple remedies such as the call to improve communication between business and IS managers or to change organisational structure, that are common in the IS literature, are likely to be ineffective. One property of a complex system is that the act of understanding a problem is also an act of changing the situation. The research reported here allows managers to understand how the social system in which they operate limits their understanding and choices for action. This understanding may then allow them to improve their situation, develop an IT related dynamic capability and, eventually, improve firm performance.