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

Abstract. Much of the research literature advocates a strong information system (IS) organization‐business relationship if the IS organization and, in particular, technology is to make a value‐added contribution to the business. Although research also highlights that in many organizations this relationship is poor, little guidance is provided as to how this ‘gap’ might be bridged. The research reported in this paper is a longitudinal study of three organizations that are actively seeking to bridge the gap, improve the relationship and consequently the value that they derive from their IS investments. A process model containing six stages, illustrating the route to creating high performance from IS, is constructed from cross‐case analysis of the collected data. The paper ends with conclusions and implications.