Table Of ContentManaging Technology
for Business Value
Managing Technology
for Business Value
By
Stephen McLaughlin
Managing Technology for Business Value
By Stephen McLaughlin
This book first published 2020
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Copyright © 2020 by Stephen McLaughlin
All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the prior permission of the copyright owner.
ISBN (10): 1-5275-4901-1
ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-4901-2
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my wife, Mia, and family (both close and
extended), who have always been supportive, and constructively critical of
my ideas and work.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgement ............................................................ xv
About the Author ............................................................. xvi
Preface ............................................................................ xvii
Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 1
1.2 Target audience ........................................................................................ 3
1.3 The aim of this book ............................................................................... 3
1.4 How to use this book .............................................................................. 4
1.5 The structure of the book ..................................................................... 4
1.6 Chapter breakdown ................................................................................ 6
1.7 Intended learning outcomes ............................................................ 10
1.8 Reflecting on the content ................................................................... 11
Chapter 2: IS Strategy and Business Strategy Alignment .... 12
Learning Objectives..................................................................................... 12
2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................ 12
2.1.1 IM, ISM, or KM – What’s the Difference? ................................. 13
2.1.2 Why is an Information Systems Strategy Needed? ............. 18
2.1.3 Information Systems as a Component of Competitive
Advantage ......................................................................................................... 21
2.1.4 Focusing the IS Strategy on Business Value .......................... 22
2.2 Enabling Organizational Strategy through Information
Systems ............................................................................................................ 26
2.2.1 Developing an IS Strategy .............................................................. 27
2.2.2 The Strategy Process ........................................................................ 28
2.2.3 Planned versus Emergent Strategies ........................................ 30
2.2.4 Duration of an IS Strategy ............................................................. 32
2.3 IS from a Strategic Perspective ....................................................... 34
2.3.1 Sources of Competitive Advantage ............................................ 36
2.3.2 Porter’s Five Forces and the Impact of Technology ........... 38
2.3.3 Aligning IS to Compete: A Value Chain Perspective ........... 41
viii Table of Contents
2.4 Aligning IS with Corporate Strategy ............................................. 44
2.4.1 Alignment Points between IS and the Business ................... 46
2.4.2 Potential Benefits of Alignment between Strategies ......... 48
2.4.3 Asking the Right Strategy Questions ......................................... 49
2.4.4 Responsibility for IS Strategy Development and
Implementation ............................................................................................. 51
2.5 Learning Summary ............................................................................... 55
2.6 Case Study: Implementing an eCRM System in a FTSE 100
Company .......................................................................................................... 57
2.7 Review Questions ................................................................................. 61
2.8 Review Question Answers ................................................................ 65
2.9 Chapter References .............................................................................. 66
Chapter 3: From IT to Digital: Assessing the Organizational
Impact ............................................................................... 68
Learning Objectives..................................................................................... 68
3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................ 68
3.1.1 What Do we Mean by “Digital”? .................................................. 69
3.1.2 Factors Influencing the “Digital” Discussion ......................... 72
3.1.3 Digital: A Changing Perspective? ............................................... 77
3.2 Breaking with a “Traditional” View of IT .................................... 81
3.2.1 Transforming the IT Function ..................................................... 82
3.2.2 Challenging the Traditional View of the IT Function ....... 83
3.2.3 Re-focusing the IT Function on Digital .................................... 85
3.3 Developing a “Digital” Enabled Organization ........................... 88
3.3.1 Supporting a Move into a Digital Market ............................... 89
3.3.2 The Impact of Digital on our Work Processes ...................... 92
3.4 Developing a Holistic View of Technology for your
Organization ................................................................................................... 96
3.4.1 Why is a Holistic View Important? ............................................. 96
3.4.2 Moving the Focus from Technology to Information .......... 97
3.4.3 Moving from a Functional View to a Supply Chain
View .................................................................................................................. 101
3.5 Assessing the Impact of a Digital Approach ........................... 105
3.5.1 Understanding the Complex Nature of Modern
Organizations .............................................................................................. 106
3.5.2 Digital Support for Organizational Success Factors ...... 108
Managing Technology for Business Value ix
3.5.3 Assessing the Value of Digital to the Organization ......... 112
3.4 Learning Summary ............................................................................ 114
3.7 Case Study: PRISA Going Digital .................................................. 116
3.8 Review Questions .............................................................................. 119
3.9 Review Question Answers ............................................................. 123
3.10 Chapter References ........................................................................ 125
Chapter 4: Building a Digital Business Strategy ................ 128
Learning Objectives.................................................................................. 128
4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 128
4.1.1 Corporate or Digital Strategy: What's the Difference? . 129
4.1.2 From an Information Systems Strategy to a Digital
Strategy .......................................................................................................... 135
4.1.3 Digital Strategy and Value Creation ...................................... 138
4.2 Redefining the Role of Technology for the Digital
Strategy ......................................................................................................... 140
4.2.1 Shifting the Focus from Provision to the Use of
Technology .................................................................................................... 143
4.2.2 Factors Shaping the Digital Strategy .................................... 146
4.3 Building the Digital Strategy ......................................................... 150
4.3.1 Identifying and Managing Stakeholder Expectations ... 153
4.3.2 Considerations in Constructing the Digital Strategy ..... 157
4.3.3 Digital enabled Strategic Options ........................................... 159
4.4 Learning Summary ............................................................................ 164
4.5 Case Study: Netflix ............................................................................. 167
4.6 Review Questions .............................................................................. 170
4.7 Review Question Answers ............................................................. 175
4.8 Chapter References ........................................................................... 176
Chapter 5: Building Technology Based Capabilities .......... 179
Learning Objectives.................................................................................. 179
5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 179
5.1.1 Developing Organizational Staying Power ........................ 180
5.1.2 Developing a Competitive Advantage ................................... 183
5.1.3 Using Technology to Develop a Competitive Sustainable
Advantage ...................................................................................................... 184
5.1.4 IT-centric Frameworks................................................................. 186
5.2 Why are Capabilities Important? ................................................ 191
