Critical success factors in the alignment of IS plans with business plans

The alignment of IS plans with business plans is not an easy task and knowi ng which are the critical areas to manage will certainly enhance the succes s of such efforts. Although there is a large amount of research on critical success factors (CSFs), past studies usually examine CSFs of specific syst ems implementation (e.g., MRP) and total quality management (TQM). Relative ly few studies exist on the CSFs related to aligning IS plans with business plans. This paper presents the results of an empirical study of IS executi ves on the relative importance of various CSFs for aligning IS plans with b usiness plans. The results indicate that top management commitment to the s trategic use of IT, IS management knowledge about business, and top managem ent confidence in the IS department are the top three CSFs. Implications of the results are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reser ved.