Global IT Management: Structuring for Scale, Responsiveness, and Innovation

16 Pages Posted: 10 Jan 2012

See all articles by Sia Siew Kien

Sia Siew Kien

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Christina Soh

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Peter Weill

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Center for Information Systems Research (CISR)

Date Written: February 1, 2010

Abstract

As businesses expand globally and reconfigure their value chains, they must cope with a variety of complex challenges in managing their IT resources. This research examines how enterprises attempt to simultaneously achieve scale economies, responsiveness to business needs, and innovation. These three strategic objectives often raise conflicting requirements. Through interviews with CIOs and other senior executives of global enterprises, we identify a set of structural elements implemented to meet these requirements — shared services, centers of excellence, and value managers. Firms carefully design these elements to balance their inherent global-local tensions and help achieve the three strategic objectives.

Keywords: IT governance, IT structure, globalization, shared services, center of excellence, business-IT alignment

Suggested Citation

Kien, Sia Siew and Soh, Christina and Weill, Peter, Global IT Management: Structuring for Scale, Responsiveness, and Innovation (February 1, 2010). MIT Sloan Research Paper No. 4958-12, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1980321 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1980321

Sia Siew Kien

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Christina Soh

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Peter Weill (Contact Author)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Center for Information Systems Research (CISR) ( email )

Sloan School of Management
245 First Street, E94-15th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02142
United States
617-253-2930 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://cisr.mit.edu

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