Navigating the complexity of business-IT alignment in organizations: An investigation of the coevolutionary nature of alignment, linking theory and practice

2025

Business-IT alignment has emerged as a critical challenge in contemporary organizations, particularly as digital strategies increasingly blur the boundaries between business and technological domains. This dissertation investigates the complex process of business-IT alignment through a coevolutionary perspective grounded in Complexity Science. Recognising the limitations of traditional approaches to alignment, which often focus narrowly on specific dimensions such as intellectual and social alignment and investigate the impact of alignment factors on these dimensions, the present research addresses a fundamental question: How is the business-IT alignment process shaped within organizations? The study employs a multi-method approach that combines qualitative case studies and quantitative modelling techniques across eight organizations. By conceptualising organizations as complex adaptive systems, the research reveals the dynamic, interdependent nature of the alignment process. Key findings demonstrate that alignment is a complex phenomenon emerging from the intricate interactions of social and technical components across different organizational levels. These interactions generate a nuanced dynamic characterised by shifting patterns of alignment and misalignment, revealing the adaptive and nonlinear nature of organizational change. Drawing on this deeper understanding, the study develops a comprehensive framework comprising coevolutionary alignment principles and practical strategies. This approach bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and organizational implementation, offering insights that can guide organizations in managing the increasingly complex interactions between strategic and technological domains.

Business-IT-alignement; Complexiteitswetenschap; Co-evolutie; Business IT Alignment; Complexity Science; Coevolution; PhD-Thesis - Research and graduation internal

10.5463.thesis.981

Open access content. Open access content
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Repository
English

NLVRU oai:research.vu.nl:publications/09581607-2df3-4d44-a6fb-718feeb9128e
DOI: 10.5463/thesis.981
1478328339

VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT AMSTERDAM
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