Page 107 - DCAP306_DCAP511_E-COMMERCE_AND_E-BUSINESS

E-Commerce and E-Business

The strategic alignment model devised by Henderson and Venkatraman is pictorially depicted in Figure
8.2.

Figure 8.2: Strategic Alignment Model by Henderson
and Venkatraman

Source: Henderson and Venkatraman. Strategic Alignment Model. Oregon State University.
The strategic alignment model comprises three building blocks namely:

1. Strategic Fit: This refers to the fitness between internal and external business domain. It is the
same for IT domains too.
2. Functional Integration: This refers to the need to incorporate IT and business domains. Few of the
functions that need to be considered while aligning strategies are, shared domain knowledge
among e-commerce, IT and business executives, e-commerce and IT planning process,
communication between business, and IT and e-commerce implementation.
3. Cross-domain Relationship: Strategic alignment model calls for cross-domain relationships.
Effective management of IT necessitates balancing the choices made across all the four domains.
8.1.1 Strategic Alignment Process
The strategic alignment process has the following three elements:

1. Alignment Process: The process of arranging the key business systems in accordance with a
mission statement or common purpose is termed as strategic alignment.
2. Strategic Choices: The alignment process is co-ordinated and measured against all the strategic
choices made by the organization.

3. Documentation Process: The strategic choices must be documented along with the consequences
for their alignment. The organizational activities are checked continually against the strategic
choices to ensure that they are coherent.

The strategic alignment process involves the following steps:
1. Create an Integrated Sense of Direction: The participatory formulation of a mission and vision
statement is an instance of how an integrated sense of direction is created.
2. Evaluate the Competitive Landscape: The present and future competitive needs should be
evaluated to ensure the success of all strategic decisions
3. Formulate Strategy: Strategies can be formulated by taking into account both the internal and
environmental strengths.
4. Identify Stakeholders: Stakeholders comprise employees, customers, shareholders, and the society
around.
5. Define Outputs: Define the outputs that the organization will need to achieve to accomplish its
strategic goals and meet the stakeholder expectations.

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