An IT strategic decision-making framework in the midst of disruptive technologies

Abstract

Technological disruption enabled by the internet revolution has resulted in an exponential increase in the growth of new technologies and resultant technology disruptions in the workplace. Many firms do not grasp the new technology trends early enough to improve business processes and capitalise on these emerging technologies. Over the last five years, there has been exponential growth of technologies in the consumer space, mainly in social, mobile, collaboration, big data and cloud-computing technologies. As these technologies mature and gain momentum, they change the context in which businesses compete and the nature of competition, resulting in the blurring of the lines between digital and traditional business models across industries. Disruptive technologies are changing the rules of competition. The rate of change in technology in the traditional enterprise space has been relatively slow in comparison. Most chief information officers (CIOs) agree that there could be significant value in utilising new technology in creating a competitive advantage in an agile world; however, in practice the adoption and implementation of newer technology occur relatively slowly. Previous information technology (IT) research predominantly focussed on IT selection, IT risk and governance, user acceptance of technologies and IT investment criteria. However, there is very little research on factors influencing strategic IT decisions from a perspective of disruptive technologies. Business executives would generally invest in IT initiatives that can generate a return on their investment, grow their business and maintain or create a sustainable competitive advantage, but organisations are often hesitant to investment in disruptive technologies in agile business conditions. The objective of this study was to investigate critical factors that guide strategic IT decisionmaking in an agile business context. This research explored relevant literature on disruptive technologies, disruptive organisations, approaches to IT decision-making, expectations of CIOs and enterprise architects in a disruptive context. During literature reviews, various factors were identified that had an influence on strategic IT decision-making in organisations. These factors were tested with experienced IT executives who made or influenced strategic IT decisions, comprising CIOs, enterprise architects, business executives and IT consultants from organisations across industries. Some of the participants were based internationally or had gained extensive experience in IT while working for global organisations. The outcome of the data collection resulted in two contributions to the information systems discipline. The main research contribution is a framework for strategic IT decision-making (FIT framework) and a step-by-step guide on how this can used by IT decision makers in a disruptive context. The second research contribution is the BIDD model (business IT, internal IT, digital IT and digital business), which can be used to classify IT systems based on their functional purpose in organisations. The use of the FIT framework and the BIDD model provides CIOs with a comprehensive guideline to make strategic IT decisions in the midst of disruptive technologies.