An Empirical Assessment of Information Systems Planning and the Role of Information Systems in Organizations

:Research in the information systems (IS) field indicates that organizations have different roles for IS in their operations and that various aspects of strategic IS planning will vary depending on the IS role. This study empirically evaluates the differences in planning, organizational support, and performance characteristics of IS planning among organizations with different roles for IS. An operationalization of the “role of IS” is developed on the basis of the notion of a “strategic grid.” The study also evaluates the relationship between various performance measures and the “fit” between the IS planning process and the role ofIS in the organization. The data for the study were collected from a field survey of 249 firms. The results of the data analyses indicate that there are significant differences in planning, organizational support, and performance characteristics of IS planning among organizations with different roles for IS. The planning and support characteristics generally match the predictions implicit in the strategic grid, thereby partially validating it. Significant relationships exist between two of the performance measures, planning effectiveness and IS’s contribution to organizational performance, and the “fit” between the role of IS and the quality of the planning process.

• 저널Journal of Management Information Systems · 9(2) · 99–125
• 토픽Information Technology Governance and Strategy · Management Information Systems
• DOI10.1080/07421222.1992.11517960
• 저자G. Premkumar, William R. King