Small Business Performance Impacts of Information Systems Strategic Orientation

Businesses invest in developing information systems resources to gain competitive advantages. Literature has demonstrated the requirement of strategic alignment in converting these competitive advantages into sustained superior business performance. The knowledge of information systems strategic orientation and its impact on business performance will enable these businesses to fine tune their strategic information systems applications portfolio in achieving required strategic alignment. This chapter describes a research study that focuses on the information systems strategic orientation of small businesses and investigates its relationship with their perceived business performance. The organizational impact of adoption of the initial stages of electronic business development is also examined. The data were collected from small businesses on nine strategy areas, through mail survey. The result reveals three multifaceted dimensions of information systems strategic orientation. These dimensions of strategic orientation have significantly influenced their business performance. This phenomenon is explained with a model named Linear Strategic Alignment Model. For the adopters of Web presence, all these three dimensions remain significant in explaining their business performance.