Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Business Environment

 

Special Edition on: "The Role of Business Environment in Information Technology Managerial Decisions"

Guest Editors:
Dr. Jose Benitez-Amado, University of Granada, Spain
Dr. Gautam Ray, University of Minnesota, USA
Dr. Ryan Sougstad, Augustana College, USA

Information technology (IT) has become a key functional area through which firms design new business processes and develop distinctive organizational capabilities. Some prior research has focused attention on analysis of the enabling role of IT in enhancing the value of several types of business processes (e.g., innovation) and on the development of higher-order process capabilities (e.g., knowledge management). However, less effort has been devoted to theoretically analyzing or empirically testing the role of firms’ environment in the IT decision-making process and in the generation of an IT-enabled competitive advantage.

It does not seem rational to think that the business value of these IT managerial decisions is generated in isolation and independently of the business environment surrounding a firm. Thus, like other functional decisions, IT decisions will be influenced by the business environment in which firms operate. In other words, the impact of IT decisions on both business processes and firm-level performance could be conditioned by the environmental circumstances that firms encounter. We believe that it is central for the strategy and information systems literatures to deepen and improve their knowledge of these circumstances.

This Special Issue seeks to disseminate high-quality research regarding the analysis of the role of business environment in the IT decision-making process and in the generation of competitive advantage enabled by IT. We hope to publish work that demonstrates better ways of understanding this stream of research and new advances in it. We welcome both theoretical and empirical investigations.

Subject Coverage
We expect that a variety of interesting research questions may be related to this Special Issue. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The impact of environmental dynamism on IT investment decisions.
• The impact of the business environment on the generation of IT business value.
• The influence of the business environment on the generation of IT resources and capabilities.
• The role of IT in alignment with environmental change.
• The relationship between the business environment and IT strategic alignment.
• IT outsourcing decisions and the business environment.
• The influence of IT decisions on the implementation of environmental management, corporate social responsibility and ethical corporate practices.
• The role of IT in strategic alliances between business corporations.
• IT decisions, organizational learning and the business environment.
• New advances in the emerging IT-enabled organizational capabilities perspective.
• Other issues related to the role of business environment in IT managerial decisions.

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper was not originally copyrighted and if it has been completely re-written).

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines page

Important Dates

Deadline for submission: 31 August, 2011