Strategic Information Systems Planning: Planning System Dimensions,Internal Coalignment,and Implications for Planning Effectiveness

Improving strategic information systems planning (SISP) remains a critical concern of both practitioners and academics. To date, a rather large number of studies have examined or proposed analytical techniques, frameworks, and tools for developing strategic plans. As a direct consequence of this emphasis, methodologies have often become the basis for characterizing the entire process of SISP within the information systems literature. Recent theoretical work suggests that such characterizations are unnecessarily narrow and that planning activities within organizations can be more accurately conceptualized as systems of behaviors, agendas, or process dimensions. Working within this contemporary theoretical perspective, the findings of this study suggest that SISP can be operationalized along distinct dimensions of comprehensiveness (extent of solution search), formalization (rules and procedures to guide activities), focus (creativity or control), flow (top down, bottom up), participation (number and variety of planners), and consistency (frequency of planning cycles). Similar to previous theoretical work and case studies, higher order factor modeling of these dimensions suggests that planning systems that exhibit aspects of rationality (high comprehensiveness, high formalization, control focus, top-down flow), and adaptation (high participation, high consistency) are positively associated with planning effectiveness.     

Planning in a free market economy

This paper is based on a research study project on Premises and Process of Introducing Strategic Planning in a Company. It presents and discusses some major findings of the study concerning the content of strategic decisions, the elements of a planning system, the process of introducing strategic planning and the impact of environmental conditions upon the strategic planning system.     

The Value of Using Scheduling Information in Planning Material Requirements*

Current research and practice in the field of production and inventory planning is dominated by hierarchical, material requirements planning-based methods. The objective of this research is to determine the merits of a major redirection for the design of manufacturing planning systems—a direction that more directly exploits the capabilities of modern computer technology. We test the relative performance of two fundamentally different classes of manufacturing planning systems: (1) those that make no use of sequencing and scheduling information in the planning of material deliveries (for example, traditional MRP-based systems), and (2) those that use sequencing and scheduling information to plan delivery of materials. We first derive an analytical expression for the expected benefit (in terms of flow time reduction) of using scheduling information for a single machine system. We then describe and test a simple heuristic for predicting the improvement that could be realized in more complicated multimachine systems, under certain conditions. Results from controlled simulation experiments, over a wide range of operating environments, suggest that although the value of scheduling information is influenced by the operating environment, it could be substantial.     

An Empirical Test of the Strategic-Grid Model of Information Systems Planning*

Contingency models of information systems planning predict that no single planning approach will suit all organizations' needs. Little empirical research has been undertaken, however, to evaluate this prediction. Accordingly, we used McFarlan, McKenney, and Pyburn's (1983) strategic-grid model to study the information systems planning problems encountered by 49 governmental agencies. Twenty-seven agencies were required to follow a planning approach best suited to organizations that had a high level of dependence on both their existing and proposed systems. We predicted that agencies not having these characteristics would encounter the most problems with the approach. The remaining 22 agencies could choose their own planning approach. We studied this latter group to determine whether the problems encountered by the first group could be attributed to the mandated approach. Overall, the empirical results obtained were equivocal. Some results indicated that more planning problems were encountered by agencies in which the mandated approach was not appropriate to their position in the strategic grid. Other results were not supportive of this proposition. More work needs to be undertaken, therefore, to evaluate the predictive and explanatory power of contingency models of information systems planning. In addition, our research indicates a need to develop more rigorous theories of information systems planning behaviors, to improve the instruments needed to measure these behaviors, to explore the relationship between information systems planning behaviours and organizational effectiveness, to investigate how organizational learning impacts planning behaviors, and to determine the types of information systems planning problems that diffuse through organizations and those that remain localized.     

Public Knowledge of and Involvement with Metropolitan and Local Strategic Planning in Australia

Despite academic and practitioner debate surrounding public involvement in planning, little is actually known about the extent to which the public is aware of the planning process. The focus of this paper is the examination of the underlying, latent public knowledge of the planning system in Australia. This latent knowledge (or more accurately, the absence of this knowledge) emerges as a barrier to public involvement. This paper examines public perceptions of the importance of metropolitan and local strategic plans, knowledge of these plans, the main sources of this knowledge, and the extent to which the public is likely to become involved with strategic planning process. The paper concludes that despite large segments of the population viewing strategic planning as important, only a small proportion is actually aware of the plans themselves, while an even smaller proportion is likely to become involved in the planning process.     

An Empirical Model for Managing Quality in the Electronics Industry

Much of the empirical research in the past two decades has suggested that quality management (QM) is context dependent. This research develops an empirical QM model in a technology‐based sector—electronics manufacturing. Based on quantitative and qualitative investigations of 225 electronics firms in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of China, a path analytic model is developed. The empirical model shows that a typical quality management system (QMS) in the electronics industry is composed of four major modules, namely leadership, cultural elements, operational support systems, and process management. These modules create a series of chain effects on organizational performance, rather than acting as parallel elements with an equal impact. By quantifying their effects on organizational performance and comparing the model to others in the literature, we identify those QM constructs that are context dependent. In electronics manufacturing, process management and customer focus are more important than other elements (e.g., cultural factors) for garnering business results. This study contributes to contingency theory and research by identifying the key constructs and their relationships in a competitive, volatile, and technology‐based industry with complex supply networks.     

How planning and capital budgeting improve SME performance

This paper focuses on the use of strategic planning among small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK manufacturing sector. It analyses the relationship between the intensity of strategic planning, business objectives, perceived performance, changes in the business environment and the use of capital budgeting techniques. Capital budgeting is of particular interest as an area of investigation, and is one which has seldom featured in previous studies of strategic planning behaviour. These issues were investigated via a survey of UK manufacturing SMEs carried out in the winter of 1996/97.

The key results suggest that SMEs incorporate a range of objectives into their strategic planning process, with profit improvement perceived to be the most important objective, followed by sales growth. SMEs engaged in detailed strategic planning are more likely to use formal capital budgeting techniques, including the net present value method, which is consistent with maximising the companys' value. Perceived profitability and success in achieving organisational objectives were positively associated with planning detail, suggesting that strategic planning is a key component improving performance. Planning detail was also associated with a significantly higher level of perceived change in the business environment.     

Do your planning processes meet the reality test?

Sophisticated planning systems and touted techniques have never been a guarantee of success to a business. We believe this is because there has been too much focus on the content of strategy rather than the underlying process, and because the process is often poorly matched to the nature of the problem. For strategic situations the issues are usually complex and unpredictable with many unknowns and a large human factor, typical of the problem category defined as ‘wicked’. This article identifies a set of seven fundamental process principles for dealing with such problems. The principles are a starting point in the effort to codify the ‘art’ of successful strategic planning. Several examples of the use of the principles in business contexts are provided.     

The role of strategic planning in small business

One of the important reasons for the tremendous interest in corporate strategy and strategic planning is that managers realize that a good strategy greatly increases the likelihood of a firm's success. Strategic planning is not the only reason for success, but there have been several studies which show that firms that plan their strategies are more effective. Taking the relationship of strategy and success as given, this paper considers the need to develop strategic planning for small businesses, and summarizes the findings of a recent survey on strategy of small businesses.Sixty-two minority and 58 non-minority small businesses were studied in this survey. A Likert-type questionnaire was used for the study. The survey indicates that the small businessmen fail, cope, and learn in the struggle for survival. Judgment, experience and intuition seem to play a more important role than any well structured technique of strategic planning. The businessmen were found to be ‘growth maniacs’, since growth may be the most tangible manifestation of achievement. The study leads to the conclusion that efforts should be made to improve the planning knowledge of this vital sector of economy.     

Success and Failure of MRP II Implementation

This paper assesses the reasons for the success or failure of manufacturing resource planning (MRPII) implementation projects. It begins by discussing the literature and research on success and failure of these systems and presents evidence from cases prepared by the authors. The paper is not concerned to prescribe ‘best practice’ for MRP implementation. The first section reviews the relevant literature and concludes that there is a divergence of opinion as to what constitutes success, raising questions on the usefulness of current methods of establishing whether implementation is successful. The latter section of the paper uses results from longitudinal (process) research carried out by the authors. This starts with a discussion of what counts for success. The discussion highlights the importance of understanding the full potential of MRPII in effecting change of organizational structures, cultures and practice. Several factors that contribute towards MRPII failure are next considered. Finally,‘big bang’style implementations, such as those recommended by the Ollie Wight organization, are most likely to be successful if the organization follows a strategic approach to planning. There also needs to be a high degree of fit between organizational structure, culture and the demands of the MRPII system.     

Long range planning of U.K. and Japanese corporations—A comparative study

The author conducted mail surveys on long-range planning systems in Japanese and British corporations. He also made a number of visits to corporations in both countries to analyse the similarities and differences in the planning systems.In the U.K., the clarification of goals and the resource allocation are emphasized but in Japan clarification of goals and basic problem finding are stressed.The strategic projects are not necessarily formulated in the long-range planning process. The relationship between the project and the long-range planning was analysed and in both countries, the trend of long-range planning is towards more strategy orientation than quantitative computation.The planning process in Japan is more centralized. The management committee plays an important role in reviewing and making the final decision. In the U.K., the plan initiation is more decentralized, and in the final decision the board of directors plays a more important role. The trends are, however, from bottom up approach to top down approach.Goals expressed in the long-range plan of the U.K. corporations put more emphasis on financial goals, but that of the Japanese corporations emphasizes growth and employee welfare.Regarding the style of strategic decision-making the subjective responses show that it is partly analytical and partly intuitive. There are some differences between two countries, but this problem needs to be analysed further.To cope with uncertainty, multiple scenarios and contingency plans are more frequently used in the U.K., whereas in Japan the sequential decision is more commonly used. British corporations are better prepared for uncertainty than Japanese corporations.The key success factors of long-range planning are similar in both countries. The involvement of top management and cooperation of line management are two important items. Differences are that in the U.K. the planning system is emphasized in addition to the other factors, but in Japan clear goals are more emphasized.     

Efficiency of Even Separation of Parallel Elements with Variable Contest Intensity

The article considers strategic defense and attack of a system that can be separated into parallel elements. The defender distributes its resource between separation and protecting the elements from outside attacks. The vulnerability of each element is determined by an attacker‐defender contest success function, which depends on a contest intensity that may increase or decrease through the separation process. The article determines criteria of separation efficiency for systems without performance redundancy and 1‐out‐of‐N and Q‐out‐of‐N systems with performance redundancy. For the systems with performance redundancy the cases of expected damage proportional to the probability that the demand is not met, and expected damage proportional to the unsupplied demand, are considered.     

An Examination of IT Planning in a Large,Diversified Public Organization*

The conduct of information technology (IT) planning processes has been of dominant managerial concern in public and private organizations. Yet, current IT planning research offers little guidance on the types of planning actions and behaviors that are appropriate to organizational contexts. We focus on the conduct of the IT planning process by describing an exploratory research project. The project empirically examined a number of issues associated with managing IT planning within a single large public enterprise, particularly identifying actions and behaviors related to producing quality IT plans. The results of the study yield some useful set of guidelines; most interesting is the importance of building IT infrastructure based on IT sophistication and innovativeness for large agencies to improve plan quality. Other recommendations include having a focused, balanced technology and business planning orientation that incorporates a strategic outlook, support of top management, attention to business planning, and early consensus among planning members.     

The Relationship Between Information System Planning Sophistication and Information System Success: An Empirical Assessment*

Literature on information systems (IS) planning implicitly assumes that a sophisticated IS planning process leads to greater IS success. This paper questions the exclusive reliance on this traditional belief. Instead, because IS planning requires significant organizational resources, prior IS success is essential to convince top management of the importance of IS planning sophistication. Therefore, IS success may influence IS planning sophistication. Several theoretical arguments are advanced in support of this explanation. Data from a survey of 236 academic institutions are used to empirically assess the two alternative directions of the relationship between IS planning sophistication and IS success. Four structural models including the alternative causal directions are evaluated. Two of these models are supported. Together, they imply that for a high level of IS planning sophistication, either the previous ISs should have been successful or the organization should possess advanced information technology capabilities. Thus, empirical results suggest that the explanation presented here (i.e., IS success facilitates IS planning sophistication) provides an equally good alternative to the more traditional explanation (i.e., IS planning sophistication facilitates IS success).     

Some initial specifications for a strategic information system

Much of the discussion and published literature on information systems to date has been about systems concerned with the internal administration and operations of an organization. Considerably less attention has been given to the information requirements of the more strategic managerial activities of planning and policy making, in which the future directions and objectives of the organization are decided. Internal information systems in many organizations have now grown to maturity. At the same time, managers have become aware of the need for an additional component of the overall information system to support their more strategic activities. This paper considers the broad characteristics of a strategic component of an organizational information system and derives some initial specifications from which a more comprehensive design can be developed.     

制造战略研究:现状、问题及趋势

制造战略从战略的角度审视企业的制造职能,认为企业的制造竞争力是企业赢得竞争优 势的有力武器. 对制造战略的概念、研究领域进行了总结,分析了制造战略研究和实践中存在 的问题,结合战略管理研究的趋势和企业竞争新的特点,提出了制造战略研究的趋势.     

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Competence Constructs: Two‐Stage Multi‐Item Scale Development and Validation*

This paper defines and operationalizes eight ERP competence constructs. We define ERP competence as a portfolio of managerial, technical and organizational skills and expertise posited as antecedents to improved business performance occurring after an ERP system is operational and functionally stable. To improve responses to changes in markets and products, manufacturers are increasingly adopting ERP systems. However, anecdotal accounts indicate that the realization of ERP's potential benefits is rare. Because of its pervasive influence on manufacturing and business performance, the need for scientifically developed and tested multi‐item scales pertaining to ERP competence is highly relevant to manufacturing strategy research. We follow a two‐stage normative process of scale development. First, we identify a portfolio of eight generic constructs that are hypothesized to be associated with successful ERP adoption. Each construct is then operationalized as a multi‐item measurement scale by applying a manual item sorting technique iteratively to independent panels of expert judges until tentative reliability and validity is established. Second, we further refine and validate the multi‐item scales using survey data from 79 North American manufacturing users of ERP systems.     

Why do Emerging Market Firms Engage in Voluntary Environmental Management Practices? A Strategic Choice Perspective

In this paper, we investigate firms’ decisions to engage in voluntary environmental management (VEM) practices within an emerging market context. Drawing on the strategic choice and the resource‐based view perspectives, we report results from a survey of VEM practices – a specific form of self‐governance – drawing on a sample of 519 Turkish firms from various industries to identify important strategic antecedents of firms’ decisions to engage in such practices. We find that as firms become more customer focused, more inclined to pursue a differentiation strategy and subject to a higher level of strategy‐oriented stakeholder focus, they tend to implement higher levels of VEM practices, with important implications for research, policy and practice for both emerging and developed markets.     

Performance measurement systems in SMEs: A review for a research agenda

In recent years, literature has identified the increasing complexity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and highlighted their sensitivity to differences in managerial culture and management systems. Research has shown that performance measurement systems (PMSs) could play an important role in supporting managerial development in these companies. In this paper, the literature on performance measurement in manufacturing SMEs is reviewed and the diffusion, characteristics and determinants of performance measurement in SMEs are analysed. Shortcomings in the performance measurement systems are highlighted and the many factors that seem to constrain PMSs in manufacturing SMEs are defined, e.g. lack of financial and human resources, wrong perception of the benefits of PMS implementation, short-term strategic planning. Moreover, using dimensions defined according to the information found in the literature, two PMS models specifically developed for SMEs are compared with generic PMS models. The comparison points out an evolution in PMS models over time; in particular, the models developed in the last 20 years are more horizontal, process-oriented and focus on stakeholder needs. However, it is not clear whether these changes are due to the evolution of the generic models or an attempt to introduce models suited to the needs of SMEs. To clarify this matter and better to understand PMSs in SMEs, further theoretical and empirical studies are necessary. The main issues still requiring investigation are listed in a research agenda at the end of the paper.     

Leveraging Supply Chain Integration through Planning Comprehensiveness: An Organizational Information Processing Theory Perspective

This study extends prior research on supply chain planning and integration by examining the underlying capabilities by which firms exploit the information they gain from integration activities. We use organizational information processing theory (OIPT) to develop hypotheses that identify the comprehensiveness of an organization's supply chain planning capabilities as an important mediator in the relationship between its supply chain integration activities and its operational performance. Further, our interpretation of OIPT suggests that an organization's usage of technology‐enabled supply chain management systems (SCMS) moderates these effects. Using survey data from 445 global firms, we estimate the corresponding moderated‐mediation structural model. The results indicate that usage of SCMS enables organizations to better utilize the information they gain from external integration efforts (relationships with customers and suppliers), thus improving the comprehensiveness of their supply chain planning capabilities. In contrast, the use of SCMS appears to be a partial substitute for internal integration as a driver of planning comprehensiveness. Most importantly, the results suggest that planning comprehensiveness is a significant generative means by which integration and technology investments produce superior operational performance. These findings provide a richer and more theoretically grounded explanation of relationships between supply chain integration, supply chain planning, and operational performance.