Evaluating the contribution of information systems to organizational competitive advantage

While many writers propose that information technology can be a prime contributor to finding solutions to business problems and that investment in IT infrastructure can be beneficial when it supports an organization in attaining a sustained competitive advantage, current research suggests that there is frequently very little correlation between expenditures in IT and key business performance indicators. Most organizations struggle with this apparent contradiction and with finding a means to measure whether or not competitive advantage has been (or will be) achieved through a given IT application. This paper provides an overview of some critical factors to consider and a method for evaluating an IT application in terms of its ability to provide long-term competitive advantage.