An Exploratory Study of the Influence of External Stakeholders on the Strategic Alignment of IS Projects

Strategic IS alignment has typically been explored from the perspective of the individual business organization. For many organizations however effective strategic information systems alignment does not stop at the boundaries of the business, but rather extends to strategic stakeholder groups in the external environment. This paper, consequently, attempts to develop a theoretical framework that reflects this extended scope for strategic alignment – an IS-business-external stakeholder alignment perspective. To accomplish this, the paper examines and compares how and if IS projects at a local community hospital cater to the needs of its internal and external stakeholders.