INTRAGROUP CHARACTERISTICS AND PROCESSES AND BUSINESS-IT OPERATIONAL ALIGNMENT

Abstract

Although the literature on business-IT alignment is substantial, longitudinal studies on the social aspects of the alignment process are still relatively scarce. In this paper, we identify the social factors related to the characteristics and processes of multifunctional work groups that influence the process of operationally aligning IT services and business demands in organizations. To this end, we conducted an in-depth qualitative research on a self-managed cross-functional team composed of business and IT representatives who dealt with systems requirements in a multinational aeronautics turbine maintenance company in Brazil. We assessed the elements of Cohen and Bailey’s (1997) group efficacy model, the roles described by Mathieu et al. (2015), as well the level of operational alignment in that context, over the years the team had been meeting. Our results highlight the importance of team characteristics and processes for the development of business-IT operational alignment.