Strategic Alignment Maturity: A Structural Equation Model Validation

Addressing the IT business alignment conundrum remains an important area to investigate. This is demonstrated by research over the past three decades that has consistently identified IT-business alignment as a pervasive and persistent problem. An even more compelling reason is empirical evidence demonstrating the relationship between IT-business alignment and firm performance. Recent research has found an association between higher levels of IT-business alignment maturity (using the lead authors’ maturity assessment) and higher levels of firm performance. These findings add credence to the importance of achieving a higher level of IT-business alignment maturity. Luftman’s Strategic Alignment Maturity (SAM) assessment combines six different organizational components (communications, value measurement, governance, partnership, technology scope, and skills) into a strategic alignment maturity score. The purpose of this paper is to summarize recent research that demonstrates the relationship of SAM and firm performance and the results of new research applying a structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis.

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