The impact of IT flexibility and IT capability on Business-IT strategic alignment: An empirical study in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Public and private organisations face many challenges to attain the objectives of providing services and products to their clients. Most organisations adopt many enablers customised technological tools to tackle their unique operational issues and achieve their strategic goals. Therefore, IT is considered one of the most enablers for organisations to help overcome their challenges. Higher education institutions have developed strategies and are relying more on their IT systems in delivering most of services to their stakeholders. The roles of IT strategy and business strategy in any organisation are often incorporated. However, the organisations’ objectives are likely not to be attained if the business strategy and IT strategy are not aligned in an effective manner. Business and IT strategic alignment has been considered as IT application in which match the business objectives, goals, and requirements. To improve the efficiency and performance of alignment, IT flexibility and IT capability provide a robust lens to assess their impact on organisational objectives. Although, strategic alignment has been the interest of many researchers, investigation of such issue in Saudi higher education sector is still to be undertaken. To address this issue, the aim of this study was to examine how IT is used in Saudi Arabian higher education to attain their organisational objectives. This aim was pursued by meeting the following objectives: First, to investigate the connection between flexibility and capability of IT dimensions. Second, to investigate the effect of IT flexibility and IT capability on the business strategy and IT strategic alignment. Third, to investigate how business strategy and IT strategic alignment have influenced organisational performance. The research employed the University of Hail as a case study to conduct an extensive examination of IT flexibility, IT capability, and IT strategic alignment with business strategy. A qualitative research approach was utilised to collect data through various methods, including interviews and document analysis. The study participants comprised the Deanship, Strategy department, IT department, Heads of Schools, faculty members and students. This study found a significant shift from viewing IT as merely a support function to recognising it as a strategic enabler for achieving organisational goals. It delved into the interrelated nature of IT flexibility, IT capability, business-IT strategic alignment, and organisational performance. These interconnections allowed the organisation to effectively leverage IT for performance enhancements, as evidenced by improvements in key areas such as student services, research output, administrative efficiency, and university ranking. The study made a significant contribution to addressing gaps in IT research and enhanced the understanding of educational and business organisations regarding the effective implementation of Business-IT strategic alignment.