Strategic information management theory and practice (fifth editor)

This fifth edition of Strategic Information Management has been brought fully up to date with recent developments in the management of information systems, including digital transformati

Strategic Information Management

Today, there are few in senior management positions who can afford to ignore modern informa-tion technology, and few individuals who would prefer to be without it Modern IT is key to organ-izational performance; yet we often assume the benefits will occur without forethought or effort

As managerial tasks become more complex, so the nature of the required information systems changes – from structured, routine support to ad hoc, unstructured, complex enquiries at the high-est levels of management If taken for granted, serious implications can arise for organizations This fifth edition of Strategic Information Management has been brought fully up to date with recent developments in the management of information systems, including digital transformation strategy, the issues surrounding big data and algorithmic decision-making The book provides a rich source of material reflecting recent thinking on the key issues facing executives, drawing from a wide range of contemporary articles written by leading experts in North America, Europe and Australia Combining theory with practice, each section is fully introduced, includes further reading and questions for further discussion

Designed for MBA, master’s level students, and advanced undergraduate students tak-ing courses in information systems management, it also provides a wealth of information and references for researchers

Dorothy E Leidner is the Randall W and Sandra Ferguson Professor of Information Systems

at Baylor University, USA; a Senior Research Fellow at Lund University, Sweden, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Mannheim, Germany Previously she was an Associate Professor at INSEAD, France and held Visiting Professorships at ITESM, Mexico and the University of Caen, France

Robert D Galliers is the University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, formerly Provost, at

Bentley University, USA; Professor Emeritus, formerly Dean, at Warwick Business School and Honorary Visiting Professor at Loughborough University, UK Previously, he was a Professor and Research Director at the London School of Economics and Head of the School

of Information Systems at Curtin University, Australia

Boyka Simeonova is an Assistant Professor at Loughborough University, the Director of

the Knowledge and the Digital Economy Network, the Deputy Director of the Centre for Information Management, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK

“This fifth edition of Strategic Information Management updates and extends a unique selec-tion of theories and valuable practice insights, established in the previous ediselec-tions, and offers

a roadmap for executives navigating in the digital landscape and coping with the digitiza-tion challenges associated with organizadigitiza-tional transformadigitiza-tion The book has the right balance

of theoretical frameworks and practical insights Taken together, the book reflects recent thinking regarding many of the key issues facing executives in getting the most out of their investments in information technology and digitalization initiatives, highlighting the complex strategy, organizational and governance issues involved.”

– IOANNA CONSTANTIOU, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

“I’m pleased the editors of Strategic Information Management have produced this fifth edi-tion, which represents a major overhaul, including online supporting materials not available with prior editions Particularly valuable is the amplification of theory in this edition – not theory for theory’s sake, but rather practice-guiding theory; the implication being that we are all researchers and that complex matters demand research and unique approaches and solu-tions I strongly encourage students and practitioners to assume an evidence-based practice perspective when reading and reflecting on these writings which, combined, provide a much-needed stimulus for critical thinking on these complex matters in what are challenging times.”

– GUY GABLE, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

“The fifth edition of Strategic Information Management has great value in providing direc-tions for practitioners and scholars towards an understanding of the strategic importance and managerial challenges of digital transformation in today’s organizations With inputs from international scholars, the book offers really useful management frameworks and principles to help in understanding how organizations and industries are transformed by disruptive digital technologies.”

– CAROL HSU, Tongji University, China

“This fifth edition of Strategic Information Management updates and strengthens what has long served as a vehicle through which current and future executives obtain a foundational understanding as well as pragmatic insights regarding a host of strategic and managerial issues associated with the digital transformation of organizations As with the earlier editions, the authors refuse to fall into the too-often-taken route of providing readers with a handbook offering ‘one-size-fits-all’ practices and procedures – solutions which ultimately fail to align with the situations faced by readers Instead, the editors successfully provide readers with exposures to critical themes and frameworks and to illustrations of how some of our brightest executives are applying these in addressing digitalization initiatives and challenges – providing readers with the capability to formulate workable solutions to many, if not most, of the situa-tions they face in their digital transformation efforts.”

– ROBERT W ZMUD, University of Oklahoma, USA

Strategic Information

Management

Theory and Practice

Edited by

Robert D Galliers, Dorothy E Leidner and Boyka Simeonova

Fifth Edition

Fifth edition published 2020

by Routledge

52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017

and by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2020 selection and editorial matter, Robert D Galliers, Dorothy E Leidner and Boyka Simeonova; individual chapters, the contributors

The right of the Robert D Galliers, Dorothy E Leidner and Boyka Simeonova to

be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent

to infringe

First edition published by Butterworth-Heinemann 1994

Fourth edition published by Routledge 2009

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record has been requested for this book

ISBN: 978-0-367-25250-2 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-25251-9 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-429-28679-7 (ebk)

Typeset in Perpetua

by Swales & Willis, Exeter, Devon, UK

P A R T I

Foundations to Information Systems Strategy and Strategizing 1

1 Michael Earl

a p p r o a c h e s t o i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m s p l a n n i n g : e x p e r i e n c e s i n

s t r a t e g i c i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m s p l a n n i n g 5

2 Robert D Galliers

c o n c e p t u a l d e v e l o p m e n t s i n i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m s s t r a t e g y :

f u r t h e r r e f l e c t i o n s o n i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m s s t r a t e g y 30

3 Robert D Galliers

o n c o n f r o n t i n g s o m e o f t h e c o m m o n m y t h s o f i n f o r m a t i o n

s y s t e m s s t r a t e g y d i s c o u r s e 56

4 Robert D Galliers

conceptual developments in information systems strategizing :

unpacking the concept 71

5 Anna Karpovsky and Robert D Galliers

a l i g n i n g i n p r a c t i c e : f r o m c u r r e n t c a s e s t o a n e w a g e n d a 85

vi c o n t e n t s

P A R T I I

Digital Strategy and Organizational Transformation 129

6 Ina M Sebastian, Jeanne W Ross, Cynthia Beath, Martin Mocker, Kate G Moloney and Nils O Fonstad

h o w b i g o l d c o m p a n i e s n a v i g a t e d i g i t a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n 133

7 Thomas Hess, Christian Matt, Alexander Benlian and Florian Wiesböck

o p t i o n s f o r f o r m u l a t i n g a d i g i t a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s t r a t e g y 151

8 Omar A El Sawy, Pernille Kræmmergaard, Henrik Amsinck and

Anders Lerbech Vinther

h o w l e g o b u i l t t h e f o u n d a t i o n s a n d e n t e r p r i s e

c a p a b i l i t i e s f o r d i g i t a l l e a d e r s h i p 174

9 Anna Singh and Thomas Hess

h o w c h i e f d i g i t a l o f f i c e r s p r o m o t e t h e d i g i t a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n

o f t h e i r c o m p a n i e s 202

10 Boyka Simeonova, Robert D Galliers and Stan Karanasios

s t r a t e g i c i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m s a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p o w e r

P A R T I I I

Organizing and Governing the IS Function 239

11 Ritu Agarwal and V Sambamurthy

p r i n c i p l e s a n d m o d e l s f o r o r g a n i z i n g t h e i t f u n c t i o n 243

12 Dorothy E Leidner, Robert C Beatty and Jane M Mackay

h o w c i o s m a n a g e i t d u r i n g e c o n o m i c d e c l i n e : s u r v i v i n g a n d

t h r i v i n g a m i d u n c e r t a i n t y 261

13 David S Preston, Dorothy E Leidner and Daniel Chen

c i o l e a d e r s h i p p r o f i l e s : i m p l i c a t i o n s o f m a t c h i n g c i o a u t h o r i t y

a n d l e a d e r s h i p c a p a b i l i t y o n i t i m p a c t 277

14 Sanja Tumbas, Nicholas Berente and Jan vom Brocke

t h r e e t y p e s o f c h i e f d i g i t a l o f f i c e r s a n d t h e r e a s o n s

o r g a n i z a t i o n s a d o p t t h e r o l e 292

15 Joe Peppard

r e t h i n k i n g t h e c o n c e p t o f t h e i s o r g a n i z a t i o n 309

P A R T I V

Some Current and Emerging Challenges 337

16 João Baptista, Alexander D Wilson, Robert D Galliers

and Steve Bynghall

s o c i a l m e d i a a n d t h e e m e r g e n c e o f r e f l e x i v e n e s s a s a n e w

c a p a b i l i t y f o r o p e n s t r a t e g y 341

c o n t e n t s vii

17 Dorothy E Leidner, Ester Gonzalez, and Hope Koch

a n a f f o r d a n c e p e r s p e c t i v e o f e n t e r p r i s e s o c i a l m e d i a a n d

o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n 364

18 Paolo Aversa, Laure Cabantous and Stefan Haefliger

w h e n d e c i s i o n s u p p o r t s y s t e m s f a i l : i n s i g h t s f o r s t r a t e g i c

i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m s f r o m f o r m u l a 1 403

19 Sue Newell and Marco Marabelli

s t r a t e g i c o p p o r t u n i t i e s ( a n d c h a l l e n g e s ) o f a l g o r i t h m i c

d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g : a c a l l f o r a c t i o n o n t h e l o n g - t e r m s o c i e t a l

e f f e c t s o f ‘ d a t i f i c a t i o n ’ 430

20 Kirsten E Martin

e t h i c a l i s s u e s i n t h e b i g d a t a i n d u s t r y 450

T his is the fifth edition of Strategic Information Management First published in

1994, each of the editions deals with the challenges and strategies in manag-ing information systems, as indicated by the subtitle of the first four editions We have changed the title of this edition slightly to Strategic Information Management: Theory and Practice to better reflect the content of this edition of the book and

to reinforce Kurt Lewin’s (1943) maxim that, ‘There’s nothing as practical as a good theory’ As before, we aim to present the many complex and inter-related issues confronting those in management positions concerned with the management

of information systems with their organizations.

As previously, the primary audiences are MBA or other master’s level students and senior undergraduate students taking courses in the management, organizational and/or strategic implications of business information systems Students embarking

on research in these areas should also find the book of help in providing a rich source

of material that reflects recent thinking regarding many of the key issues facing executives in getting the most out of investments in information technology – whether these issues relate to strategy processes or organizational and governance issues For research students in particular, prior editions of the book can also be referred to with

a view to obtaining a contemporaneous understanding of such issues and concerns over the period of the last quarter century.

In line with this latter point, we have organized this edition of Strategic Information Management into four sections; the first of which provides something

of an historical foundation to our treatment of information systems strategy, includ-ing the processes and practices of information systems strategizinclud-ing We then move

on to more recent treatments of digital strategy and organizational transformation

in Part II, while Part III considers organizational and governance issues associated with an organization’s information technology function We end, in Part IV, with a

Preface

p r e f a c e ix

consideration of some of the current and emerging challenges The book’s structure and content are summarized in Figure 0.1 above.

As with previous editions of Strategic Information Management, the book is structured in such a way as to enable readers either to follow each chapter in the sequence in which they are presented or to ‘dip into’ the book as they wish, depend-ing on their needs or interests at the time Additionally, and this may be of particu-lar interest to those who wish to consider historical developments, readings taken from previous editions of the book are recommended (cf Galliers and Baker, 1994; Galliers and Leidner, 2003, 2009; Galliers et al., 1999).

In many instances, the approach taken is to challenge taken-for-granted notions that are often to be found in the mainstream or popular literature; you won’t find an assumed ‘best practice’ solution, for example (cf Swan et al., 1999; Wagner and Newell, 2004; Wagner et al., 2006) The subject matter of strategic information management is too complex for simple ‘solutions’ The American columnist H.L Mencken was one of the most quoted thinkers of the first half of the twentieth century for good reason One famous quotation of his is apposite in this context: ‘For every

Part One: Foundaons to IS strategy and strategizing

Ch.1: Historical approaches Ch.2: Further reflections Ch.3: A critique

Ch.4: Conceptual developments Ch.5: Aligning practices

Part Two: Digital strategy and organizaonal transformaon

Ch.6: Navigating digital transformation Ch.7: Formulating a digital strategy Ch.8: Building digital capabilities Ch.9: Chief digital officers Ch.10: Organizational power dynamics

Part Three: Organizing and governing the IS funcon

Ch 11: Principles and models Ch.12: Managing in economic decline Ch.13: CIO profiles

Ch.14: Alternative roles for chief digital officers Ch.15: The IS organization

Part Four: Some current and emerging challenges

Ch.16: Opening strategy through social media Ch.17: Organizational socialization and social media Ch.18: Decision support systems failures

Ch.19: The opportunities and challenges of datification Ch.20: Ethical issues

Figure 0.1 Book structure and contents