Volume 12, Issue 5 (May 2025), Pages: 82-96
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Original Research Paper
Conceptualizing IS alignment competency in transforming organizations: Key factors for effective IT/IS alignment
Author(s):
Nasser Shebka *, Abdelnasser S. Mohamed, Saad Alahmari
Affiliation(s):
Department of Computer Science, Applied College, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia
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* Corresponding Author.
Corresponding author's ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2582-1150
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2025.05.009
Abstract
This paper proposes a framework to support corporate and IT managers in guiding organizational transformation through the alignment of information systems (IS) with business agility. As market conditions frequently change, organizations are often required to shift their business strategies. However, initial IS designs rarely account for such shifts, and there is a lack of practical or academic guidance for organizations, especially those with limited resources, on how to align existing IS with new strategies or replace them altogether. This study identifies key factors that influence successful IS alignment, including the quality of the business strategy, the current IS, and the IT department. It redefines the relationships among these elements and highlights the importance of evaluating the existing IS to prevent misalignment from affecting future systems. The findings show that a well-defined business strategy is essential for IS success and that even advanced IT infrastructure cannot compensate for strategic inconsistencies. The study also underscores the role of a capable IT department in enabling agile IS alignment in competitive environments. This research fills a gap in the literature by offering a structured approach to aligning IS with evolving business strategies and provides practical guidance for organizations undergoing transformation or planning new IS development.
© 2025 The Authors. Published by IASE.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords
Information systems, Business strategy, IS alignment, Organizational agility, IT department
Article history
Received 3 December 2024, Received in revised form 19 April 2025, Accepted 30 April 2025
Acknowledgment
The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at Northern Border University, Arar, KSA for funding this research work through the project number "NBU-FFR-2025-2044-01."
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Citation:
Shebka N, Mohamed AS, and Alahmari S (2025). Conceptualizing IS alignment competency in transforming organizations: Key factors for effective IT/IS alignment. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 12(5): 82-96
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