Information systems strategy is of central
importance to IS practice and research. Our extensive review of the
literature suggests that the concept of IS strategy is a term that
is used readily; however, it is also a term that is not fully
understood. In this study, we follow a perspective paradigm
based on the strategic management literature to define IS strategy
as an organizational perspective on the investment in, deployment,
use, and management of IS. Through a systematic literature search,
we identify the following three conceptions of IS strategy employed
implicitly in 48 articles published in leading IS journals that
focus on the construct of IS strategy: (1) IS strategy as the use of
IS to support business strategy; (2) IS strategy as the master plan
of IS function; and (3) IS strategy as the shared view of the IS
role within the organization. We find the third conception best fits
our definition of IS strategy. As such, we consequently propose to
operationalize IS strategy as the degree to which the organization
has a shared perspective to seek innovation through IS.
Specifically, our proposed IS strategic typology suggests an
organization’s IS strategy falls into one of the two defined
categories (i.e., IS innovator or IS conservative) or is simply
undefined. We also develop measures for this new typology. We argue
that the proposed instrument, which was cross-validated across both
chief information officers (CIOs) and senior business executives,
has the potential to serve as a diagnostic tool through which the
organization can directly assess its IS strategy. We contend that
our reconceptualization and operationalization of IS strategy
provides theoretical and practical implications that advance the
current level of understanding of IS strategy from extant studies
within three predominant literature streams: strategic IS planning,
IS/business strategic alignment, and competitive use of IS.
Keywords: IS strategy, IS strategic alignment, strategic
IS planning, competitive advantage