STRATEGIC INFORMATION-SYSTEMS AND COMPETITIVENESS - ARE FIRMS READY FOR AN IST-DRIVEN COMPETITIVE CHALLENGE

Strategic planning for information systems technology (IST) and its use for competitive advantage have been discussed for some time. However, such research focuses on the planning method and experience of firms that have been successful in their efforts to use IST for competitive advantage. Not much attention has been paid to less successful organizations and to what they are doing to prepare themselves for IST-driven competition. This paper presents a study conducted among small-to-medium size firms showing that a large fraction of these businesses place surprisingly little emphasis on planning for information systems (IS) and these business have a rather low level of awareness of the potential impact of IS planning on competitiveness. These results point to the fact that organizations need help in becoming more proactive in linking IS planning to their competitive strategy.