Establishing a partnership between top and IT managers

Abstract

Purpose A poor relationship between top management and IT personnel is often denoted as a business–IT gap. In an era of digital transformation, bridging this gap and establishing a strong relationship between business and IT are more important than ever before. The purpose of this paper is thus to examine a particular link between business and IT managers – a partnership relationship – together with the factors facilitating it. Design/methodology/approach A partnership construct is developed based on interdisciplinary studies and transferred to the business–IT context since it is not generally used in IT disciplines. The model was empirically tested with structural equation modelling using data obtained from 221 IT managers in Slovenian companies. Findings The results show that both the perceived value of IT and the business orientation of the IT department exert a positive influence on the partnership, while a mere technology-oriented IT department has a negative effect on the partnership relationship. Furthermore, the paper also presents the prerequisites for a business-oriented IT department. Originality/value In this digitalisation era, IT is becoming even more important for its strategic role in organisations. There is thus a strong need to bridge the business–IT gap. Despite significant efforts made to close this gap, it remains a major issue. This research contributes to understanding the business–IT gap and presents the key factors for ensuring a partnership relationship is in place. The study also combines the views of social exchange theory and knowledge-based theory and upgrades findings concerning the influence of social facilitators on collaboration outcomes.

Governance and management of digital transformation projects: an exploratory approach in the financial sector

“…Digital transformation requires new skills and technologies, and IT managers are replaced or renamed by CDOs. Nevertheless, it would be better to develop partnership business and the role of IT managers instead of creating new job titles (Manfreda and Štemberger, 2018). Other authors have stated that digital transformation must be governed by C-level executives and provided three possible general options: linking the responsibilities of an existing role, such as the CEO or CIO, installing a dedicated role such IJIS 15,4 as a CDO and implementing a digital transformation committee that consists of multiple executives or managers (Soto Setzke et al, 2021).…”

Managerial approaches and sociotechnical implications of the adoption of consumer-facing in-store technology in organizational processes: the case of fashion retail

“…Various company characteristics influence IT adoption -size, ownership, managerial structure, growth imperatives, employee expertise and level of technological education (Bruque and Moyano, 2007;Olsson et al, 2019;Naicker and Van Der Merwe, 2018), and specific to retailing, market positioning and store formats (Alexander and Kent, 2021;Antéblian et al, 2014;Hult et al, 2019;Javornik et al, 2021). Crucially, senior management support, and the relationship between senior management and employees across business and IT departments (Bonetti et al, 2022;Manfreda and Štemberger, 2019) have a fundamental role (Olsson et al, 2019).…”

“…Existing research on retail technology adoption (Grewal et al, 2020;Inman and Nikolova, 2017;Patten et al, 2020;Shankar et al, 2020) largely adopts a consumer perspective or is conceptual. Empirical insights into the factors influencing -and the sociotechnical implications of -retailers' (non-)adoption of new technologies into organizational working processes (Manfreda and Štemberger, 2019) from an overt managerial perspective (Alexander and Kent, 2022;Javornik et al, 2021;Pantano et al, 2018;2022;Roggeveen and Sethuraman, 2020;Verhoef et al, 2009) remain lacking. With the multiplicity of technologies at their disposal, "retailers are understandably overwhelmed by the options and may adopt technologies without a clear picture of how they fit into their strategy" (Inman and Nikolova, 2017, p. 7) guidance focuses on business opportunities of existing and emerging technologies (e.g.…”

“…With the multiplicity of technologies at their disposal, "retailers are understandably overwhelmed by the options and may adopt technologies without a clear picture of how they fit into their strategy" (Inman and Nikolova, 2017, p. 7) guidance focuses on business opportunities of existing and emerging technologies (e.g. McKinsey & Co., 2021) but disregards sociotechnical implications of organizational technology adoption, which are critical for successful implementation (Berg et al, 2005;Bonetti et al, 2022;Kaarst-Brown and Robey, 1999;Manfreda and Štemberger, 2019;Naicker and Van Der Merwe, 2018). Digital transformation is not only about technological solutions but also requires consideration of business strategy, people, and existing processes, as well as potential managerial reluctance and change apprehension in employees (Lawson, 2022).…”

Growth Strategies and Performance of Faith Based Universities in Kenya: A Case of Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA)

“…According to Manfreda and Štemberger (2019), strategic partnership is an alliance between the companies that combines the resources, capabilities and core competencies together to achieve common interests. Mustikaningsih, Cahyandito, Kaltum and Sarjana (2019) opine that the partnership strategy (Strategic relationship) can occur among suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and customers, with the sole aim of: gaining access to markets, increasing the value of the products / services offered, Reducing the risk posed by environmental change, ensuring complementary in the field of expertise, acquiring new knowledge, building a sustainable cooperation with major customers and obtaining the resources that are not owned by the company.…”