Issues in the planning of strategic information systems: an exploratory study

Summary form only given. The present study has been an attempt to understand the dimensions of SIS planning issues and to identify the trends in the importance given to the various dimensions in planning of SIS by the Indian industry. A conceptual framework for understanding the dimensions of SIS planning issues was conceived. Seven measures have been identified and a construct was developed. The measures are: (1) business planning issues, (2) information system planning issues, (3) organization's system capability, (4) organization's system usage capability, (5) competitors system capability, (6) customers system capability, and (7) suppliers system capability. The first four measures are internal to the organization, and the other three are external issues. A survey was conducted involving various types of organizations operating in India. Based on the results of the study and field experiences, some important inferences can be made. Organizations tend to give more importance to the internal issues than the issues external to the organization. In fact, the external forces are neglected. This could be due to the fact that the use of information system for strategic purposes is still in a nascent stage in India.