Logo PTI Logo FedCSIS

Proceedings of the 18th Conference on Computer Science and Intelligence Systems

Annals of Computer Science and Information Systems, Volume 35

Factors for Effective Communication of IT Costs and IT Business Value

, ,

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15439/2023F7224

Citation: Proceedings of the 18th Conference on Computer Science and Intelligence Systems, M. Ganzha, L. Maciaszek, M. Paprzycki, D. Ślęzak (eds). ACSIS, Vol. 35, pages 677687 ()

Full text

Abstract. Nowadays, organizations must invest strategically in information technology (IT) and choose the right digital initiatives to maximize their benefit. Nevertheless, Chief Information Officers still struggle to communicate IT costs and demonstrate the business value of IT. The goal of this paper is to support their effective communication. In focus groups, we analyzed how different stakeholders perceive IT costs and the business value of IT as the basis of communication. We identified 16 success factors to establish effective communication. Hence, this paper enables a better understanding of the perception and the operationalization of effective communication.

References

  1. S. Solanki and A. Bant, 9 Winning Actions to Take as Recession Threatens. [Online]. Available: https://www.gartner.com​/​en/​articles/​9-​winning-​actions-​to-​take-​as-​recession-​threatens (accessed: Mar. 28 2023).
  2. Gartner Inc., Gartner Forecasts Worldwide IT Spending to Grow 5.1% in 2023. Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo™ 2022. Orlando, 2022. Accessed: Apr. 17 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.gartner.com​/​en/​newsroom/​press-​releases/​2022-​10-​19-​gartner-​forecasts-​worldwide-​it-​spending-​to-​grow-​5-​percent-​in-​2023
  3. Gartner Inc., “2023 CIO Agenda. 4 Actions to Ensure Your Tech Investments Pay Digital Dividends,” 2022.
  4. C. Riedinger, M. Huber, N. Prinz, and C. Rentrop, “Towards a Taxonomy of Strategic Drivers of IT Costs,” in Information Systems: Proceedings European, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern Conference on Information Systems (EMCIS 2022), M. Papadaki, P. Da Rupino Cunha, M. Themistocleous, and K. Christodoulou, Eds., Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2023, pp. 555–569.
  5. C. Lozada and R. Naegle, “Effective Communication Is Critical to Successful Cost Optimization Efforts,” 2020. Accessed: Apr. 13 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.gartner.com​/​en/​documents/​3990229
  6. Gartner Inc., Communicate IT’s Business Value. [Online]. Available: https://www.gartner.com​/​en/​information-​technology/​insights/​business-​value-​of-​it
  7. P. Hillebrand and M. Westner, “Success factors of long-term CIOs,” Inf Syst E-Bus Manage, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 79–122, 2022, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10257-021-00546-z.
  8. C. Riedinger and M. Huber, “An Expert View on Challenges in Managing IT Costs in the Digital Age,” in IADIS IS 2023 Proceedings, Lisbon, Portugal, 2023.
  9. P. P. Tallon, “Do you see what I see? The search for consensus among executives’ perceptions of IT business value,” Eur J Inf Syst, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 306–325, 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/ejis.2013.2.
  10. M. J. Pickering and S. Garrod, “Alignment as the Basis for Successful Communication,” Research Language Computation, vol. 4, 2-3, pp. 203–228, 2006, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11168-006-9004-0.
  11. J. C. Henderson and H. Venkatraman, “Strategic alignment: Leveraging information technology for transforming organizations,” IBM Syst. J., vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 472–484, 1993, http://dx.doi.org/10.1147/sj.382.0472.
  12. J. Cybulski and S. Lukaitis, “The impact of communications and understanding on the success of business/IT alignment,” 2005.
  13. I. Kurti, E. Barolli, and K. Sevrani, “Critical success factors for business-IT alignment: A review of current research,” Romanian Economic and Business Review, vol. 8, no. 3, p. 79, 2013.
  14. J. Luftman, R. Papp, and T. Brier, “Enablers and Inhibitors of Business-IT Alignment,” CAIS, vol. 1, 1999, http://dx.doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.00111.
  15. T. Held and M. Westner, “IT Business Value Measurement and Communication among German CIOs: A Conceptual Framework,” in 2022 IEEE 24th Conference on Business Informatics (CBI), Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2022, pp. 146–155.
  16. S. Mitra, V. Sambamurthy, and G. Westerman, “Measuring IT performance and communicating value,” MIS Quarterly Executive, vol. 10, no. 1, 2011.
  17. S. De Haes, D. Gemke, J. Thorp, and W. Van Grembergen, “KLM's Enterprise Governance of IT Journey: From Managing IT Costs to Managing Business Value,” MIS Quarterly Executive, vol. 10, no. 3, 2011.
  18. B. van Ruler, “Communication Theory: An Underrated Pillar on Which Strategic Communication Rests,” International Journal of Strategic Communication, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 367–381, 2018, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2018.1452240.
  19. S. de Haes, T. Huygh, A. Joshi, and W. Van Grembergen, “Adoption and Impact of IT Governance and Management Practices,” International Journal of IT/Business Alignment and Governance, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 50–72, 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/IJITBAG.2016010104.
  20. ISACA, COBIT 2019®: Framework: Introduction and Methodology. Schaumburg: ISACA, 2018.
  21. R. Kohli and V. Grover, “Business Value of IT: An Essay on Expanding Research Directions to Keep up with the Times,” J. Assoc. Inf. Syst., vol. 9, p. 1, 2008.
  22. S. de Haes, Ed., Enterprise Governance of Information Technology: Achieving Alignment and Value in Digital Organizations, 3rd ed. Cham: Springer International Publishing AG, 2020.
  23. R. Kohli and S. Devaraj, “Realizing the Business Value of Information Technology Investments: An Organizational Process,” MIS Quarterly Executive, vol. 3, no. 1, 2004.
  24. Nils Urbach, Arne Buchwald, and Frederik Ahlemann, “Understanding IT Governance Success And Its Impact: Results From An Interview Study,” in ECIS 2013 Proceedings, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2013, P.55.
  25. A. Buchwald, N. Urbach, and F. Ahlemann, “Business value through controlled IT: toward an integrated model of IT governance success and its impact,” J Inf Technol, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 128–147, 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/jit.2014.3.
  26. Y. E. Chan and B. H. Reich, “IT alignment: what have we learned?,” J Inf Technol, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 297–315, 2007, http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jit.2000109.
  27. S. Q. Njanka, G. Sandula, and R. Colomo-Palacios, “IT-Business Alignment: A Systematic Literature Review,” Procedia Computer Science, vol. 181, pp. 333–340, 2021, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2021.01.154.
  28. S. de Haes, W. Van Grembergen, A. Joshi, and T. Huygh, “Enterprise Governance of IT, Alignment, and Value,” in Management for Professionals, Enterprise Governance of Information Technology: Achieving Alignment and Value in Digital Organizations, S. de Haes, Ed., 3rd ed., Cham: Springer International Publishing AG, 2020, pp. 1–13.
  29. J. Luftman, “Assessing Business-IT Alignment Maturity,” CAIS, vol. 4, 2000, http://dx.doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.00414.
  30. H. A. Smith and J. D. McKeen, “From Technology to Value: The Perennial IT Challenge,” Queen's University Canada, 2020. Accessed: Sep. 20 2022. [Online]. Available: https://smith.queensu.ca​/_​templates/​documents/​it-​forum/​technology-​to-​value.pdf
  31. P. Love, Z. Irani, and R. Fulford, “Understanding IT Costs: An exploratory study using the structured case method,” in PACIS 2003 Proceedings, Adelaide, South Australia, 2003, P. 45.
  32. S. Mohamed and Z. Irani, “Developing taxonomy of information system's indirect human costs,” in 2nd International Conference on Systems Thinking in Management, Manchester, UK, 2002.
  33. S. Bartsch, Ein Referenzmodell zum Wertbeitrag der IT. Zugl.: Marburg, Univ., Diss., 2014. Wiesbaden: Springer Vieweg, 2015.
  34. H. A. Smith and J. D. McKeen, “Developments in Practice VII: Developing and Delivering the IT Value Proposition,” CAIS, vol. 11, 2003, http://dx.doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.01125.
  35. A. Bryman and E. Bell, Business research methods, 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2011.
  36. M. Gibson and D. Arnott, “The Use of Focus Groups in Design Science Research,” in ACIS 2007 Proceedings, 2007.
  37. G. Toppenberg, “Expanded Understanding of IS/IT Related Challenges in Mergers and Acquisitions: Methods & Research Context,” in ECIS 2015 Proceedings 2015, P.182.
  38. J. Merhout, D. Havelka, and T. Rajkumar, “Determining Factors that Lead Students to Study Information Systems using an Alumni Focus Group,” in ACIS 2016 Proceedings, 2016.
  39. R. A. Krueger and M. A. Casey, Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research, 5th ed. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC: SAGE, 2015.
  40. J. M. Corbin and A. L. Strauss, Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory, 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc, 2015.
  41. M. Saunders, Research Methods for Business Students, 8th ed. Harlow, UK: Pearson, 2019.
  42. F. Ahmad, W. A. Abd Ghani, and N. H. Arshad, “Ishikawa diagram of critical factors for information technology investment success: A conceptual model,” in Proceedings of The 4th International Conference on Information Systems Management and Evaluation ICIME 2013, 2013, p. 27.
  43. L. Luca, “Success factors for R & D projects,” in MATEC Web of Conferences, 2018, p. 7001.
  44. J. Peppard and J. Ward, “‘Mind the Gap’: diagnosing the relationship between the IT organisation and the rest of the business,” The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 29–60, 1999, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0963-8687(99)00013-X.