Framing the Business Case for IT Purchases: Do I Use the Executive Sponsor's Rationale or Do I Use Process Innovation?

This paper discusses the dilemma that upper management has during the cycle of purchase for technology base products. The executive must sort through the executive sponsor’s rationale and attempt to rely upon their unstructured personal assessment. The authors present a methodology that is based upon a plan of reasoning and assessment called “process innovation.” They maintain that the executive decision makers will rely upon this new methodology to improve their judgment by diffusing the overall purchase process with sound reasoning that leads to good judgment. DOI: 10.4018/jisss.2012070103 International Journal of Information Systems in the Service Sector, 4(3), 40-51, July-September 2012 41 Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. This paper illustrates the development of critical thinking or “process innovation” in the area of Information Systems, Innovation, and Change, which overlaps with disciplines such as Accounting, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and other social disciplines. The emphasis is on critical thinking in creating the business case and in measuring successes with a rational assessment process The next sections review the purpose, issues, argument, and reasoning structure of a business case. The findings based on empirical research and their discussions follow.