Reconceptualizing the context-design issue for the information systems function

Most of today's organizations are struggling with the task of devising appropriate designs to enable the successful pursuit of their strategies, given their competencies, within their particular environmental context. This manuscript provides an elegant set of arguments which should enrich the thinking of both scholars and executives regarding the decision to centralize or decentralize decision responsibilities for a set of organizational activities. While these arguments are couched in terms of a firm's application development activity, the core arguments are salient to most organizational activities.