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UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
AN INVESTIGATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRATEGIC
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND BUSINESS STRATEGIES IN MALAYSIAN ORGANIZATIONS
SAADIATUL IBRAHIM
GSM 1999 1
AN INVESTIGATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRATEGIC
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND BUSINESS STRATEGIES IN
MALAYSIAN ORGANIZATIONS
By
SAADIATULIBRAHIM
Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of The Requirements For The Degree of Master of Science in the
Malaysian Graduate School of Management Universiti Putra Malaysia
January 1999
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Chairman of the
Supervisory Committee, Associate Professor Dr. Md. Zabid Abdul Rashid, Dean of
Malaysian Graduate School of Management. Special thanks are also due to Associate
Professor Dr. Samsinar Md Sidin and Dr. Nurol' Ain Mustapha as committee
members who generated immense intellectual impetus in the supervision of the
study. Their patience, guidance and constructive criticism throughout the preparation
of this study are deeply appreciated.
My special thanks go to my colleagues and to all my friends who have contributed in
one way or another towards the completion of my study. Records of thanks are also
extended to all the firms for their assistance to complete the questionnaires.
Last but not least, it is a pleasure to take this opportunity to acknowledge the support
and encourage from my loving husband, Tun, my mother, Khatijah, my parent in
law, brothers and sisters for their encouragement and support throughout my study.
11
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , v
List of Figures . . . . .. . ... . . ... .... .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vll
List of Abbreviations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vin
Abstract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Abstrak. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Xl
CHAPTER I
II
III
INTRODUCTION Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Strategic Information System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3 Business Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Problem Statement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Objectives of Study ........... : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 13 Theoretical Framework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 14 Hypotheses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . ... ..... . .. 20 The Importance of Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 23
LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Strategic Information System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Information System . . . . , . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Accounting Information System ... . . . . . . .. . .. . . . ... " 28 Financial Information System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Management Information System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Marketing Information System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . 37 General Information System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Models of Business Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Relationship Between Business Strategies and Strategic Information System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
METHODOLOGY Source of Information and Data. . . .... . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 58
Primary Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . ... . .. . ...... . . .. . . . . 58
111
Research Design.............................................. 58 Measurement of Variables................................... 59 Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Sampling....................................................... 62
Study Population . . . . . . . . . '" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Sample Size......... . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Data Analysis... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Method of Analysis. .................... ...... . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Sample Distribution and Response Rate........... ... 67 Respondent Background...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Company Background................................... 71
Reliability and Validity... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Reliability Test............................................ 73 Validity Test.......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
IV RESULTS AND DATA ANALYSIS
v
The Strategic Information System.......................... 87 The Business Strategies...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 The Relationship Between Business Strategies and Strategic Information Systems......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION Implications.. ......... ........................................ 105 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Limitation of Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
BIBLIOGRAPHY 116
APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 A Cover Letter ............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 B QuestIonnaIre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
VITA
IV
Table
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
Table 4
Table 5
Table 6
Table 7
Table 8
Table 9
Table 1 0
Table 1 1
Table 12
Table 1 3
Table 14
Table 1 5
Table 1 6
Title Page
Sample Distribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Response Rate................................................ . . . . 68
Respondent Profile. .............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Companies Profile..................................... .. . ....... 72
Reliability Analysis on Strategic Information System..... 75
Reliability Analysis on Business Strategies................. 75
Means, Standard Deviations and Intercorrelations of 77 Accounting Information System Strategy Variables ...... ..
Means, Standard Deviations and Intercorrelations of 79 Marketing Information System Strategy Variables ........ .
Means, Standard Deviations and Intercorrelations of 79 Financial Information System Strategy Variables .......... .
Means, Standard Deviations and Intercorrelations of 8 1 Management Information System Strategy Variables .....
Means, Standard Deviations and Intercorrelations of 8 1 General Information System Strategy Variables .......... .
Means, Standard Deviations and Intercorrelations of 83 Focus Strategy Variables ...................................... .
Means, Standard Deviations and Intercorrelations of Cost 85 Leadership Strategy Variables ................................ .
Means, Standard Deviations and Intercorrelations of 85 Differentiation Strategy Variables ............................ .
Factor Analysis For Strategic Information System......... 88
Factor Analysis For Business Strategies............ .......... 93
v
Table 17
Table 1 8
Means, Standard Deviations and Intercorrelations of Strategic Information Systems and Business Strategies Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Characteristics of The Three Business Strategies Derived From Cluster Analysis ......................................... .
VI
96
97
LIST OF FIGURES
Table Title Page
Figure 1 Strategic Information System Process ...................... 6
Figure 2 The Differences Among The Three Strategies ............ 8
Figure 3 The Framework Of The Relationship Between Strategic 1 9 Information Systems and Business Strategies ............
Figure 4 Ansoff Basic Matrix .......................................... 44
Figure 5 Expansion of Ansoff Basic Matrix ......................... 45
Figure 6 Forces Driving Industry Competition ..................... 47
Figure 7 The Difference Among The Three Generic Strategies ... 5 1
Figure 8 The Model of The Strategic Information Systems and 1 08 Business Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vll
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AIS Accounting Information System
FIFO First In First Out
FIS Financial Information System
GIS General Information System
IS Information System
IT Information technology
LIFO Last In First Out
MktIS Marketing Information System
SIS Strategic Information Systems
viii
ABSTRACT
Abstract of thesis presented to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND BUSINESS STRATEGIES IN MALAYSIAN ORGANIZATIONS
By
SAADIATUL IBRAHIM
January 1999
Chairman Associate Professor Md Zabid Haji Abdul Rashid, Ph.D.
Faculty Malaysian Graduate School of Management
This paper investigates the nature of business strategies and strategic
information system pursued by Malaysian firms and to examine the relationship
between the business strategies and the strategic information system used by the
firms. The study were analysed using SPSS Win ReI. 6.0 (Statistical Package for
Social Science for MS Windows Release 6.0).
The empirical results arising from survey research conducted in Malaysia
showed that most businesses appear to be competing through the cost leadership
strategy. It was found that there is a positive relationship between business strategies
and the strategic information system in Malaysian firms. For those firms who used
the accounting information system and financial information system, they perceived
that cost leadership strategy is highly important followed by differentiation strategy
and focus strategy. For those who practised the management information system and
IX
general information system in their organizations, they perceived that the cost
leadership strategy is highly important as compared to differentiation and focus
strategy. However, the finding shows that those firms that used the marketing
information system in their organizations· would not differentiate the business
strategies that they would adopt in their organizations.
Recommendations for further research are also made, which focuses on the
potential bias introduced into this type of research where only Klang Valley
managers were surveyed. This study has looked at only one model of business
strategy and there is a need to extend the analysis at other models of business
strategy.
x
ABSTRAK
Abstrak tesis yang dikemukakan kepada Senat Universiti Putra Malaysia sebagai memenuhi keperluan untuk Ijazah Master Sains.
HUBUNGKAIT DI ANTARA SISTEM MAKLUMAT STRATEGI DAN STRATEGI PERNIAGAAN DI DALAM ORGANISASI DI MALAYSIA
Oleh
SAADIATUL BINTI IBRAHIM
January 1999
Pengerusi Profesor Madya Md Zabid Haji Abdul Rashid, Ph.D.
Fakulti Pusat Pengajian Siswazah Pengurusan Malaysia
Kajian ini mengkaji tentang keadaan semulajadi strategi perniagaan dan
system maklumat strategik yang diterimapakai oleh firma-firma perniagaan di
Malaysia dan untuk menyelidik hubungkait di antara strategi perniagaan dan system
maklumat strategik yang digunakan oleh firma-firma perniagaan di Malaysia. Kajian
ini dianalisa menggunakan SPSS Win Rel. 6.0(Statistical Package for Social Science
for MS Windows Release 6.0).
Keputusan yang diperolehi dari kajian yang dijalankan ini menunjukkan
bahawa kebanyakan perniagaan kelihatannya bersaing menggunakan strategi
kepimpinan koso Hasil kajian yang diperolehi ini mendapati bahawa bahawa adanya
hubungan positif di antara strategi perniagaan dan sistem maklumat strategi yang
diadaptasikan di dalam organisasi -organisasi di Malaysia.
Firma-firma yang menggunakan strategi sistem maklumat perakaunan dan
sistem maklumat kewangan menganggap bahawa strategi kepimpinan kos adalah
xi
sangat penting, diikuti dengan strategi pembezaaan dan strategi fokus. Hasil kajian
juga menunjukkan bahawa firma-firma yang mempraktikkan sistem maklumat
pengurusan dan sistem maklumat am di dalam organisasi mereka juga menganggap
bahawa strategi kepimpinan kos adalah sangat penting berbanding dengan strategi
pembezaan dan strategi fokus. Walaubagaimanapun, hasil kajian mendapati bahawa
firma-firma yang mempraktikkan sistem maklumat pemasaran di dalam organisasi
mereka, tidak membezakan ketiga-tiga strategi tersebut.
Saranan untuk kajian akan datang juga dibuat di dalam kajian ini, yang
menfokuskan tentang ketidakseimbangan di mana kajian ini hanya melibatkan
pengurus-pengurus di Lembah Kelang dan pandangan semua pengurus-pengurus di
seluruh Malaysia tidak diambil kira.
Kajian ini hanya ,melibatkan satu model daripada strategi-strategi pengurusan
dan adalah perlu untuk melanjutkan analisis ini kepada model-model strategi
pengurusan yang lain.
xii
CHAPTERl
INTRODUCTION
This chapter covers the general issues of information
technology(IT)/ information system(IS) in relation to the business strategies
especially in Malaysian organizations. In addition, the objectives of this
study, the hypotheses and the importance of this study are also covered.
Background
In the broadest sense, an information system can be defined as a set
of procedures which collects or retrieves, processes, stores and disseminates
information to support the decision making and control processes (Gall,
1986). Information may be collected from inside the organization (such as
production volume) or from the external environment (such as estimated
market size) and may be distributed internally or externally. Most
1
2
organisations have used, in one way or another, their own information systems
to serve their organizational demands.
Formal or structured information systems rest on the existence of relatively
fixed definitions of data and procedures for collecting, storing, processing,
disseminating and using those data. In contrast, informal or unstructured information
systems rest on open definitions of goals, opportunistic methods of data collection
and virtually unlimited channels of distribution and use. As such, they are not
included in this research. The same applies to information systems that may be
formal and structural in nature but depend mainly on manual methods for their
operation.
The application of information systems in business is relatively a new
phenomenon. The scope of application is expanding rapidly in line with the growing
power and the declining price-to-capacity ratio that information systems offer (Porter
and Miller, 1985).
Information systems have assumed an increasingly strategic role in
organisations. There is a greater emphasis in recent years on organisational efficiency
and effectiveness and constant clamour for accountability. (Porter and Millar, 1985)
Originally designed to expedite the processing of paper and data in the 1960s,
information systems enlarged its functions in the 1970s and early 1980s to general
3
management support, and subsequently to customise, specific decision support tools.
Such information systems, generally referred to as Strategic Information System, are
transforming the nature of products or services, the format of production processes,
relationships with suppliers and customers, and the basis of business competition.
Strategic Information Systems
The rapid advancement of information system has emerged from the position
of a mere tool of back-office support to one that offers significant potential in
creating competitive advantages for companies (Earl, 1 989).
These competitive advantages cover not only includes drastic improvement in
product quality, lowering production costs and defining new relationships with
suppliers and customers, but also creating new markets as the timely capturing of
information on market changes (Earl, 1 989). In describing this type of computer
based information system, a new term had been developed recently: strategic
information system(SIS).
The term "strategic information system (SIS)" was first employed by
Professor Charles Wiseman, of Columbia University, New York, in his book
Strategy and Computers: Information Systems as Competitive Weapons, published
in 1985. Strategic Information Systems was subsequently used as the title of the
4
revised edition published in 1988. According to Wiseman (1988), SIS is the
innovative use of information systems geared towards the support of an
organization's competitive strategy aimed at achieving or maintaining superiority
against business competitors".
Current approaches in the designing of a strategic information system (SIS)
are with the aim of obtaining top management awareness, identify and implement
applications that can generate competitive advantage. (Wiseman, 1988)
The concept of 'strategic information systems' has been widely accepted
with various interpretations. Other terminologies used to convey this concept include
strategic information technology, strategic information systems, planning strategic
information systems and strategic information systems planning. In addition, others
also refer it as strategic planning of information systems, information systems
strategy, information technology strategy and information management strategy.
However, the subtle variations in its meanings were not entirely clear (Reponen,
1993).
Competitive advantage may be achieved either through low costs or superior
service. Although, information technology can support both objectives, its priorities
had changed over time (Reponen, 1993). In the 1980s, a period of service orientation
the primary was on the strategic use of technology. But the increased demands for
5
PERPUSTAKAAN streamlining business operations have brought cost4m� t��¥�1A
This is true in both profit and non profit organisations.
According to Reponen ( 1993), strategic information system is essentially a
planning process in the minds of the decision makers, users and developers of the
systems. The SIS is supported with written reports and plans, but they are of
secondary importance. The way to increase understanding between different groups
in an interactive working model, which brings together different perceptions and
ideas in the organizations.
In that study , SIS was conceived as a plan for developing, implementing,
managing and operating information systems. This is shown in Figure 1. It IS a
result of an interactive working process in the organization. According to Reponen
(1983), the contents of the strategy may be different for each case. He believed that
in the strategic information system, the most important decision areas are on
strategic use of information technology, application development policy, high level
architecture, organization of the information system function and investment
planning.
Data processing professionals need guidelines from business management to
do their own work. A good strategic information system gives an overall picture of
these decision areas in an organization and helps in implementing systems.
I
6
�. Business
strategic use of IT IT I
•
Multiple • application
development Strategy
Theoretical /J participants, �
• architecture � Implementation multiple methods
Concepts • IS function • investment
planning Practical
Experience
T Figure 1 : Strategic Information System Process
Source: Strategic Information Systems - A Conceptual Analysis, Butterworth- Heinemann Ltd, 1993.
Business Strategies
According to Chandler ( 1962), strategy is the determination of the basic long-
term goals and objectives of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and
the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals. For
Andrews(1987), business strategy determines how a company will compete in a
given business, and position itself among its competitors.
Business strategy defines how each individual business will attempt to
achieve its mission within its chosen field of endeavour. A business strategy must
7
also be developed for the single business firm and for each unit in the multiple
business firm. It should specify how the unit will compete and what will be its
expected competitive advantage. Business strategy is essentially the same for the
single business firm and for the individual businesses in a multiple business firm
(Andrews, 1 987).
Business strategy is supported by a combination of the various functional
strategies. For many firms, marketing strategy is the centerpiece of business strategy,
with the other functional strategies playing an integral roles. In other firms,
production or research and development may dominate the business strategy. Each
business strategy must be compatible with the corporate strategy and with the
strategies of the other businesses operated by the firm.
Porter ( 1 980) in his contribution to strategic thought had proposed the
controversial notion of business generic strategies. According to him, there are three
types of business strategies : overall cost leadership, differentiation and focus.
Overall cost leadership, refers to the planned result of policies aimed at
managing away expense. It is a defense against each of the five competitive forces
respectively by enabling the firm to remain profitable when its rivals had eliminated
their margins through price competition. It also provides a defence against the
exploiting buyers' capacity to drive prices down only to the level of the next most
efficient competitors.
8
Differentiation consists of offering a product or service that is perceived
widely in the industry as being unique. It can take many forms including the design
or brand image, technology, product features, customer service, and dealer network.
By differentiation, firms can yield higher margins to offset supplier power, and
insulates the firm from rivalry by using brand loyalty in relation to customer's price
sensitivity.
The focus strategy is directed precisely at serving a particular buyer group, a
segment of the product line, or a geographic market more effectively or efficiently
than competitors who compete more widely. Consequently, it deploys one or both of
the other two generic strategies in its approach to that narrow target. Figure 2 shows
how Porter illustrates the differences among the three strategies in terms of strategic
advantage and strategic target groups.
Strategic target Strategic advantage
Uniqueness perceived by Low cost position
the customer
Industrywide Differentiation Overall cost leadership
Particular segment only Focus Focus
Figure 2 : The differences among the three strategies
9
Problem Statement
Today, senior managers question the value of IT/IS strategies, particularly as
years of late delivery, budget overruns and unrealised benefits have engendered a
very cautious approach to technology investment. Achieving tangible results in terms
of added value remains one of the major management challenges. This raised one of
the key issues on to what extent is ITIIS being an important strategy to
organizations?
Much attention focuses on the relationship between business and ITIIS
strategies and the successful translation of business requirements into operational
systems. However, many organisations still struggle to understand the true purpose
of an IT/IS strategy and the practical steps required to translate strategy into action.
A major survey by Kearney ( 1990) of IT/IS effectiveness indicated that many senior
managers are deluding themselves about their organisation's ability to use IT/IS
successfully.
ITIIS has impact on the ability of firms to execute a particular strategy. As
noted by Porter ( 1 980), a firm's strategy is its general framework for dealing with
competition. The achievement of one or more of these strategies gives the firm an
advantageous position relative to the industry forces and leads to higher profitability.
IT/ IS can contribute to a generic strategy in a variety of ways, since unlike
other technologies , ITI lS may impact all functions of a firm, from research and
development and engineering to marketing research and recordkeeping.
IS/IT enables organizations to operate in ways that would be difficult if not
impossible without it. IS/IT is a tool that can be used to support business activity.
But the choice of where to apply it, to which business activity, to what business
strategy remains to be made on commercial grounds. IS/ IT has the potential to
increase efficiency, but will offer no insights on the direction that such efficiency
should take. ITI lS offers new products, more information on company operations but
no light on where this is of value to the organization. IS/ IT can support a variety of
ways of organizing and operating a company (Rockart and Short, 1 989), but cannot
answer the question of which is best.
Business practices that impede company operations lie unrecognized and
relatively insignificant until the application of IS/IT allows such practices to flourish
at many times rate. Telephone, fax, e-mail are all devices for improving unstructured
informal communications. But where ill-thought-out unnecessary messages are being
passed around an organization, improving these facilities may simply lead to an
increase of traffic and less productive work. The use to which ISI IT is put is one of
those questions that only management can answer.
1 1
The importance of ITIIS varies widely from firm to firm. In several firms,
ITIIS is a major concern while for other firms, it is basically perceived administrative
convenience. For most firms, there is also no commonly accepted guidelines or
framework for measuring the importance of ITIIS to a business. Although a lot of
people have the feeling of the importance of IT l IS, few could explain how it could be
utilised or even articulate the importance ofITIlS in the future.
In order to utilise IT l IS as a competitive weapon, leaders or organisations
must understand how ITIIS has an impact on the competitive environment and
strategy of the businesses. A good understanding will enable them to direct the ITIIS
resources at hand to the firm's most important targets and hence, reap maximum
value from its utilisation. Leaders have to understand and foresee the impact of ITIIS
at the firm, industry and strategy level (Parsons, 1983).
ITIIS has a very significant role to play in business today. Among the
important role of ITIIS are creating new products and markets that were previously
not available and increased the entry barriers by increasing the market share and
discouraging entry of new competitors . Other than that, it also decrease the
bargaining power of buyers and suppliers and changing the structure of the industry .
The issue here is, whether by looking at this relationship, Malaysian
organisations will be far ahead from their competitors or Malaysian organisations
will have the competitive advantage compared to their competitors.
1 2
The essential of this study i s to obtain more understanding of the business
strategies and strategic information systems and the relationship between those two;
and the environment in which it operates, so that opportunities to make significant
contributions are identified. In this case, a very close working relationship must be
established between the business strategies and strategic information system
planners, in which the true nature of the business needs are investigated, and the
necessary initiatives defined and described, at least at a high level. The impact of
these will have on, the business can then be determined, and business responses
formulated. Strategic information systems responses are then determined as an
inherent part of the business responses.