Information Systems Planning in the Competitive Era: Relationship between Planning parameters and is Performance in Indian Organizations

Growing competition and increasing Information Technology (IT) competence have led organizations in India to leverage IT as a strategic resource for creating competitiveness. The emerging role of IT has major implications on Strategic IS Planning (SISP) in the competitive era. The objective of the paper is to investigate the relationship between information systems planning parameters and IS performance in Indian organizations. Based on longitudinal case studies of three Indian organizations from diverse industries, we investigate five key planning parametersBP-ISP (Business Planning Information System Planning) alignment, formalization, implementation plan, user involvement and role of IS function and relate them to the IS performance of the organizations. Our research reveals that organizations in India are able to achieve strategic advantage through IT by integrating IS planning with business planning, including implementation plan as part of the strategy and better management of user involvement. Based on the analysis, we present a set of lessons for effective IS strategy planning in developing countries, along with directions for further research.