A study on the strategic alignment process with information technology for new ventures: from a dynamic capability perspective

Many prior studies suggest that alignment between business strategy and IT strategy is a dynamic and continuous process, but few of them provide theoretic frameworks for this phenomenon. For new ventures, the alignment process involves with the process of resource reconfiguration to sustain competitive advantages in a velocity environment. Thus, in this paper we applied the dynamic capability perspective to analyze the entrepreneurial processes of a semiconductor company in Taiwan. This study aimed to explore how a new venture developed dynamic through integration and reconfiguration of IT resources to accomplish strategic alignment with their business goals. The results indicate that explicitly intended alignment deeply assists with developing IT capabilities and resources, and achieving implemented alignment. The processes of resource transformation affect development of IT capability within the alignment process. However, intended alignment is restricted by agreement on out-dated business strategy and path dependence, caused by existed resources and insufficient support. Especially, path dependence forcefully limits IT strategy and IT capability both. The mission of IT department in each stage, which is challenged by momentous organization changes, is advocated by accumulative resources and is restrained by rigidity of resource. Effective learning for resource integration and applying additional resource on disruptive transformation could mitigate path dependence effects.