Business strategy and information systems alignment : a study of the use of enterprise architectures in Australian Government

This thesis investigates the use of Enterprise Architectures (''the logical structuring and classification of descriptive representations of an enterprise") as enablers of alignment between business strategy and information systems in public sector agencies. The scope of this study has been shaped by Australian government policies that have set finn directions for the delivery of community products and services in the electronic domain. Foundation management and information systems theories, empirical studies and public management literature-have been used extensively in grounding this research study. A substantial body of literature has been reviewed, and this study positioned in the context of these prior literary works. In particular, the principal alignment theories have been adopted and the research model developed from the published works of eminent management and information systems researchers. The primary research question asks whether Enterprise Architectures are enablers of business strategy and information systems alignment, and if so, what are the associated alignment enabling processes? The study's four research themes are: (i) Enterprise Architecture frameworks and methods; (ii) architectural completeness; (iii) the social aspects of alignment (management support, business planning style, business plan communications); and (iv) the formal high level alignment mechanisms used by public agenc1es. The study has used an exploratory qualitative case .study research method that includes semi-structured and unstructured interviews, archival research and document discovery, public announcement and presentation information, organisational observations, and system demonstrations for the collection and triangulation of data. The case studies at