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As (Chan & Reich, 2007) highlight, the strategic Business/Information Technology Alignment (BITA) has been a recurring research topic for the past thirty years, mainly due to the strong impact of information technology (IT) investment in hardware/software and its long-term effects on the organizations’ performance. In that sense, (Luftman, 2000) states that the alignment should focus on how IT and business achieve mutual or bidirectional harmony. Over time, alignment should evolve to a state in which both strategies, i.e., business and IT, advance together, requiring management activities specifically aimed at achieving cohesive goals across all the organization units.
In the early 90s, (Henderson & Venkatraman, 1993) developed a pivotal model, namely the Strategic Alignment Model (SAM). They conceptualized the domains of strategic alignment and the interrelationships among them, which allowed researchers to formulate modern Business/IT Alignment theories. In parallel, researchers have created approaches for measuring alignment and assessing alignment maturity levels within organizations. In turn, these levels form the conceptual basis that allows organizations to define and implement processes of alignment adjustment and alignment enhancement. Thus, before implementing specific actions to improve the IT alignment with business goals, instruments that allow organizations to assess their alignment maturity are required. Such measuring tools are crucial to continuously monitor the effectiveness of the management programs and actions implemented to improve alignment and guide long-term strategies that keep business and IT aligned.
One of these instruments, designed by Luftman (J. Luftman et al., 2017), identifies the fundamental dimensions that foster BITA and defines a method that aims to assess BITA maturity level in an organization. This method allows the organization to determine its BITA level on a scale of five maturity levels. Additionally, it helps the organization recognize and understand its alignment reality, identify weaknesses and strengths in its operation, and support plans that leverage opportunities to enhance the relationships between business and IT. It is worth mentioning that the statistical validation of the instrument as presented by Luftman (J. Luftman et al., 2017) shows the relationship between the various dimensions of alignment and the firm performance and assesses the impact of alignment on it.
The rest of this paper is organized as follows. First, in the LITERATURE REVIEW section we summarize the key definitions, fundamental concepts and most relevant BITA research. After that, in the METHODS section, we explain the instrument and describe how it was used to assess BITA in the selected organization. Then, in the CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ORGANIZATION section, we describe the organization under study, its organizational structure, the interviewees, and how the instrument was applied. Next, in the ANALYZING THE RESULTS section, we present the study results. Then, in the DISCUSSION section, we discuss our main findings and compare them against those reported by Luftman. Finally, we draw some conclusions regarding Luftman’s model application and propose research areas that would complement this study.