Making Connections: A Typological Theory on Enterprise Architecture Features and Organizational Outcomes

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is an important concept, promising various benefits such as reducing redundancy in IT investments, aligning IT strategy and business strategy, and enhancing communication between IT specialists and business leaders. Experts suggest that the more mature an organization’s EA, the greater benefit the organization will achieve. However, because EA is a conceptual innovation, organizations have more flexibility in implementing EA. Thus, it is possible that the expected outcomes from implementing EA depend not only on how well EA is implemented, but also on the kinds of EA that are implemented (i.e., EA features). In this preliminary study, we propose a typological theory that link EA features with organizational outcomes. We analyze five popular branded EA frameworks to identify the types of EA features and frameworks that are connected to specified outcomes. Several hypotheses are presented, and future research is needed to further connect EA features to organizational outcomes.