Strategic Role of Information Technology in a Multinational Company: The Case of an Organization with Subsidiaries in Egypt and Sweden

Lazar Rusu (Stockholm University, Sweden) and Mohamed El Mekawy (Stockholm University, Sweden)
Copyright: © 2011 |Pages: 155
EISBN13: 9781613504123|DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-583-4.ch010
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Abstract

The purpose of this case study research is to study the strategic role that information technology (IT) plays in two subsidiaries - located in Egypt and Sweden - of a multinational company with a federal organizational structure. Using a well-established evaluation framework and a widely accepted model, we examine two important aspects of the strategic role of IT: i) how IT supports business and organizational strategy; and ii) the maturity of business and IT strategy alignment. The case study discusses the importance of having a balanced relationship among business strategy, information strategy, organizational strategy, and the way in which business and IT managers should act to improve business-IT alignment, also referred to as strategic alignment. Based on the results of the comparative analysis of the two companies, the research presents concrete recommendations that IT decision-makers from the two subsidiaries of the multinational company should consider to improve IT performance.
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