A Change for the Better: Realizing Business-IT Alignment Through Organizational Change

Investments in information technology will only yield dividends whenever technological spending complements corporate objectives, a phenomenon termed as business-IT alignment within extant literature. Synthesizing extant literature on business-IT alignment and organizational change, this paper argues for effective change management as a means for organizations to realize business-IT alignment. Findings from a grounded theory study revealed that having clear assessment criteria, promoting information exchange, getting managers to act as role models, expanding the involvement and participation of employees in decision making as well as drawing on positive collaborative experiences in the past bolster the success of change initiatives for realizing business-IT alignment. Conversely, pursuing partisan interest at the expense of the organization, speaking different professional languages, displaying apprehension and hesitation when interacting with one another as well as holding on to misguided technological expectations hinder change management efforts aimed at realizing business-IT alignment.