Bridging the gap between the IS organization and the rest of the business:plotting a route

Much of the research literature advocates a strong information system (IS) organization-business relationship if the IS organization and, in particula r technology is to make a value-added contribution to the business. Althoug h research also highlights that in many organizations this relationship is pool; little guidance is provided as to how this 'gap' might be bridged. Th e research reported in this paper is a longitudinal study of three organiza tions that are actively seeking to bridge the gap, improve the relationship and consequently the value that they derive from their IS investments. A p rocess model containing six stages, illustrating the route to creating high performance from IS, is constructed from cross-case analysis of the collec ted data. The paper ends with conclusions and implications.