Information Technology Strategic Alignment: Brazilian Cases

Abstract

This chapter presents a study about the effectiveness of Information Technology (IT) applications in Brazilian companies. IT has been considered a strategic issue for successful companies. On the other hand, the discussion about the results of Information Technology (IT) applications considering the return over the investments and the effectiveness of their management still remains controversial. Effectiveness evaluation allows strategic alignment between IT and company business visions and should be analyzed as a continuous process. In order to discuss these issues, in this chapter, a comparative analysis about IT strategic impacts is performed using different theoretical models. The study is based on multiple cases: financial services, telecommunications, and building materials companies. Interviews with the main actors from different levels of the organization hierarchy have been done.