Factors affecting information systems planning effectiveness: organizational contexts and planning systems dimensions

Technology alignment in the presence of regulatory changes: The case of meaningful use of information technology in healthcare

OBJECTIVES

Using the context of the healthcare sector, this study examines the impact of regulatory change on technology implementation and use. Hospitals are now federally mandated to showcase meaningful use of information technology (IT). We theorize that IT plan scope structured prior to a regulatory change by means of a long-term planning horizon, top management involvement, and steering committee engagement impacts organizations' ability to fulfill meaningful use requirements three to five years later. Furthermore, we contend that this impact is contingent on the specific IT adoption strategy.

METHODS

Data from the HIMSS and HITECH Act databases were combined to analyze 688 hospitals. Regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses.

RESULTS

The results of this longitudinal study show that frequency of steering committee meetings and length of planning horizon broaden IT plan scope. Broader IT plan scope is positively associated with the ability of organizations to meaningfully use IT.

CONCLUSIONS

The link between IT plan scope and meaningful use metric is particularly significant for organizations that adopt a more integrated approach towards IT adoption. Average reimbursement amount differences are provided and discussed between the different IT adoption strategies.

A Systematic Review of Business and Information Technology Alignment

Business organizations have become heavily dependent on information technology (IT) services. The process of alignment is defined as the mutual synchronization of business goals and IT services. However, achieving mature alignment between business and IT is difficult due to the rapid changes in the business and IT environments. This article provides a systematic review of studies on the alignment of business and IT. The research articles reviewed are based on topics of alignment, the definition of alignment, history, alignment challenges, phases of alignment, alignment measurement approaches, the importance of alignment in business industries, how software engineering helps in better alignment, and the role of the business environment in aligning business with IT. It aims to present a thorough understanding of business-IT alignment and to provide a list of future research directions regarding alignment. To perform the systematic review, we used the guidelines developed by Kitchenham for reviewing the available research papers relevant to our topic.

A Maturity Model of Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP)

In this paper Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) maturity models are empirically validated in Australian environment. A research instrument used to determine the degree of SISP maturity in Australian organisations is described. While empirical testing of a five-stage SISP model has only confirmed the existence of three levels of SISP maturity, statistical methods confirmed the adequacy of the establishment of the SISP assessment model as a third-order system. The study also opens the way for SISP thinking beyond the conventional approaches by introducing the Analytic Network Process and the Analytic Hierarchy Process methods to reduce complexity of SISP measurement in a natural and structural way. By using these methods, it was possible to obtain a single overall measure of SISP maturity, thus overcoming a problem of result synthesis measured by different scales.

IT Alignment: What Have We Learned?

We provide a review of the alignment literature in IT, addressing questions such as: What have we learned? What is disputed? Who are contributors to the debate? The article is intended to be useful to faculty and graduate students considering conducting research on alignment, instructors preparing lectures, and practitioners seeking to assess the ‘state-of-play’. It is both informational and provocative. Challenges to the value of alignment research, divergent views, and new perspectives on alignment are presented. It is hoped that the article will spark helpful conversation on the merits of continued investigation of IT alignment.

Key predictors of the implementation of strategic information systems plans

Strategic information systems planning (SISP) is the process of identifying a portfolio of computer-based applications that will assist an organization in executing its business plans and realizing its business goals. SISP is an important activity for information executives and top management. However, too often organizations fail to implement the recommendations from a SISP study. The SISP experiences of 105 experienced planners in this research used perceptual and objective measures to identify planning practices that predict the implementation of such plans. Deliberate planning for implementation during SISP presages that implementation whereas greater analysis of organizational needs may impede it.