Information Technology Alignment in Public Organisations : Towards Successful Digital Transformation

Abstract: The widespread acceptance of digital transformation has brought the topic to the top of researchers’ and practitioners’ agendas. However, despite the anticipated benefits and opportunities, evidence suggests that many organisations still struggle to realise the results of successful digital transformation. The recent data from academic literature, consultancy firms and media reports indicate that, on average, between 70 and 80 per cent of digital transformation projects fail. According to the Boston Consulting Group, the figure for organisations in the public sector stands at 78 per cent. Among others, one of the reasons cited for this challenge is a phenomenon referred to as ‘IT alignment’—the appropriate and timely application of information technology (IT) in congruence with the overall organisational goals, internal organisational settings, and external environments.The recognition of the critical role IT alignment plays in digital transformation has triggered calls for studies investigating the relationship between the two constructs, in various organisational contexts. However, a closer look at the extant literature reveals that public organisations were not the focus of studies exploring IT alignment’s role in successful digital transformation. This paucity of knowledge needs to be addressed since the differences between private and public organisations influence the adoption of emerging technologies. Thus, scholars argue that our comprehension of the relationship between the two constructs, based on studies conducted in private organisations, might not apply to public organisations. To address this gap and respond to the calls for further research, this study investigated the role of IT alignment in the digital transformation of public organisations. In addition to two systematic literature reviews, the thesis presents the results of two case studies with two follow-up confirmatory surveys.The research question answered in this thesis is: “How can public organisations pursue IT alignment to enable successful digital transformation?” The main results of the study presented are the following. First, three roles of IT alignment for digital transformation in a public organisation are identified, i.e., enabling organisational agility, improving the value derived from IT investments, and enabling integration of digital technologies. Second, the organisational and managerial factors that influence IT alignment are revealed: i.e., organisational agility, organisational structure, organisational culture, leadership skills, digital metrics, HR management, stakeholder relationships, and external domain alignment. The study also ranked the relative degree of influence of the identified factors on IT alignment. Third, based on two systematic literature reviews and the analysis of interviews and survey data, the thesis proposed a framework with 19 actions that decision-makers could take to improve IT alignment, thereby enabling successful digital transformation. These 19 actions are linked to six IT alignment dimensions, which, in turn, are used for improving the degree of IT alignment.The findings of the study presented in this thesis have various research and practical implications. First, the study contributes to research on the relationships between various organisational and managerial factors, the six dimensions of IT alignment, and the success of digital transformation in public organisations. Second, the study contributes to practice, as leaders in the public sector can use the findings, especially the 19 actions, as they make the necessary organisation-wide adjustments to improve IT alignment. As the finds of the studies presented in the thesis indicate, public organisations can succeed in their digital transformation endeavours when they improve the degree of IT alignment. To this end, understanding the relative degree of influence of the identified factors and the order of priority of the proposed actions will be invaluable.