Barriers in achieving business/IT alignment in a large Swedish company: What we have learned?

There are still many organizations that face difficulties in achieving business/IT alignment. Prior research has focused on the positive impact of alignment on overall business performance, while the barriers in achieving business/IT alignment were largely unexplored, especially in regards to the social dimension that refers to the people involved in alignment. Therefore this research is focusing on identifying and investigating the barriers that inhibit achieving social dimension of business/IT alignment in large organizations. A case study is conducted in one of the largest Swedish companies. The data is collected through seven semi-structured interviews, field-notes and the use of company's documents that were thematically analyzed. The research presents a unique case of 19 business/IT alignment barriers of social dimension that have been limited so far and which contribute to the business/IT alignment field. The main findings showed that low understanding of counterpart's environment; poor communication; unclear specifications; limited cooperation and lack of mutual commitment and support inhibits the achievement of alignment between business and IT domains on the social dimension. The results could support the researchers to further elaborate frameworks on how to mitigate social barriers in order to achieve a better business/IT alignment. Besides, the discussed barriers can be of practical use for other organizations trying to achieve business/IT alignment with a focus on the social dimension.