We would like to announce a symposium on “Digital Business Strategy” as part of a Special Issue of MISQ that is co-edited by  Anandhi Bharadwaj, Omar El Sawy, Paul A. Pavlou, and N. Venkatraman. The symposium will take place at the Fox School of Business at Temple University on April 8-10, 2011.

 

The symposium will include a practice-oriented session on Friday April 8, and an academic-oriented session on Saturday-Sunday 4/9-10. The practice-oriented event will feature a CIO 2.0 panel on “How CIOs can lead Digital Business Strategy” with CIOs and executives from Aramark, CIGNA, Deloitte, Hewlett-Packard, and Wyeth.  The academic-oriented session will feature the papers that are under consideration for the Special Issue of MISQ on “Digital Business Strategy: Toward a New Generation of Insights.”

 

As exponential advancements in the price/performance capability of computing, storage, bandwidth, and software applications drives the next generation of digital technologies to be delivered through cloud computing, it is time to rethink the role of IT strategy, from that of a functional-level strategy aligned but essentially subordinate to business strategy, to a fusion between IT strategy and business strategy into an overarching digital business strategy.

 

The purpose of this Special Issue of MISQ is to examine whether digital business strategy is a more appropriate framework to examine the evolution of IT and business strategy. In particular, what role can IT play in formulating and leading new business strategies, designing new organizational forms, and creating new business capabilities for success? Should IT strategy always be subordinate to business strategy, or is IT strategy the new business strategy? Is IT strategy better understood as a functional-level strategy, or is it fundamentally different than other functional-level (e.g., operations, marketing) strategies?

 

 

Paul A. Pavlou, PhD

Associate Professor of Information Systems, Marketing, and Strategic Management

Stauffer Senior Research Fellow

Director, PhD Program in Business Administration

Fox School of Business

Temple University

http://www.fox.temple.edu/directory/profile/ppavlou/