The four quadrants of the strategic impact grid are the factory, strategic, support, and turnaround.

STRATEGIC GRID

McFarlan proposed the strategic grid that lets in the visualization of the relationship between

IT approach and enterprise method and operations. This model analyses the affects of IT

existent programs (present) and of programs portfolio (future), defining 4 boxes, with

every representing one possible role for IT within the business enterprise: “Support,” “Factory,”

“Turnaround,” and “Strategic”

The strategic grid version is an IT particular model that can be used to evaluate the character of

the

initiatives that the IT enterprise has in its portfolio with the goal of seeing how nicely that

portfolio helps the operational and strategic hobbies of the firm.

Low STRATEGY IMPACT OF FUTURE SYSTEMS

Strategic impact of

Current systems

High

Low High

The X-axis:

The X axis represents impact of the project on IT approach. One way of expressing what

we imply by using that is: what alternatives does this assignment provide the firm by way of

affecting one

of Porter’s five forces in our favour?

Abstract

The recent dramatic impact of information technology (IT) on organizational performance has necessitated appropriate strategies for managing this organizational resource. IT impacts firms in different ways, and management needs a clear and systematic understanding of both the current and future relevance and impact of its IT before selecting management tools and approaches. The strategic grid framework, developed for the purpose of helping management gain this understanding, is one of the most highly recognized and quoted conceptual frameworks in information systems literature. Despite such recognition, valid operational measures of this construct are not available for use in empirical research studies. The research reported in this paper is an attempt to develop and validate operational measures for the dimensions of the strategic grid, with the understanding that the availability of such measures will promote future empirical studies. Data for this study consist of the responses of 231 IS executives to a survey instrument. Operational models of the grid dimensions are specified and the measurement properties of the models are assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) within the LISREL framework. Measures resulting from the analysis are shown to meet the requirements of rigorous tests of measurement properties. The CFA results also show that the current portfolio dimension of the strategic grid is unidimensional, while the future portfolio dimension has three factors: management support, differentiation, and enhancement.

Journal Information

Information Systems Research (ISR) is a leading peer-reviewed, international journal focusing on theory, research, and intellectual development for information systems in organizations, institutions, the economy, and society. It is dedicated to furthering knowledge in the application of information technologies to human organizations and their management and, more broadly, to improving economic and social welfare. The journal serves the interest of the information systems research and practitioner communities by providing an effective forum for the timely dissemination of research and addresses prominent and topical issues that are relevant to executives in practice.

Publisher Information

With over 12,500 members from around the globe, INFORMS is the leading international association for professionals in operations research and analytics. INFORMS promotes best practices and advances in operations research, management science, and analytics to improve operational processes, decision-making, and outcomes through an array of highly-cited publications, conferences, competitions, networking communities, and professional development services.

Rights & Usage

This item is part of a JSTOR Collection.
For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions
Information Systems Research © 1999 INFORMS
Request Permissions