The economic impact of Strategic Information Systems (SIS): a study of the commercial banking industry in the U.S.

Abstract

Information systems researchers have primarily relied on contingency models and frameworks to
better understand how firms can use the capabilities of information technology (IT) and thus take
advantage of opportunities, or protect themselves from the threats of the environment. The results of that
dominant research effort have advanced knowledge regarding the external impacts of IT, but have not
helped very much to create explanatory models that deal with the interactions between the IT-dependent
elements of organizations and with the economic impact of those interactions.
This paper suggests, develops and tests such an explanatory and predictive model of IT-BASED
economic impact by distinguishing three types of organizational systems integration that impact the
performance of US commercial banks: Technological Integration, Functional Integration, and Strategic
Integration.
The results of this study yield some useful set of guidelines: most interesting is the role of consistency
between an organization's business and strategic information systems (SIS) plans to improve overall firm
performance. Other recommendations include having a high degree of involvement of IS executives in
corporate planning, the use of outsourcing services to promote systems integration, and the importance of
internal coordination mechanisms to facilitate both systems consistency and lower transaction costs.