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Companies in the e-economy are under increasing
pressure to show strong business performance and to maximize
information resources to produce results. Information is
a company's most important currency in building and maintaining
a competitive edge today. Technology has enhanced our ability
to gather and process information. Companies worldwide spend
more than $1.4 trillion on information technology, but until
now, there has been no way to measure the effectiveness
of IT within the organization, or its real impact on the
bottom line.
Following a major two-year global research
project involving 1,009 senior managers from over 100 companies
representing 22 countries and 25 industries, the authors
have proven that when a company is high on Information
Orientation (IO)™ it will be high on business performance.
Not only can IO be applied as a diagnostic
tool or a benchmark to measure the effectiveness of an organization's
information-use, it can also be used to predict business
performance.
Information Orientation™ measures
a company's Information Capabilities™ in three
areas:
- Information behaviour and values of people
- Information management practices
- Information technology practices
The authors have validated that it is the
total interaction of these three capabilities and their
effective management that results in superior business performance.
Donald A Marchand is Professor of Information
Management and Strategy at the International Institute of
Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Professor William J. Kettinger is Director
of the Center of Information Management and Technology Research
at the Darla Moore School of Business Administration, University
of South Carolina.
John D. Rollins is the managing partner
of Strategic Information Technology Effectiveness for Accenture
(formerly known as Andersen Consulting), a leading global
management and technology consultancy.
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