Leading it flexibility: Anticipation, agility and adaptability

Karen Patten, Brian Whitworth, Jerry Fjermestad, Edward Mahinda

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Chief information managers (CIOs) lead IT organizations in a changing and uncertain competitive environment. IT managers deal with external environmental changes, changing internal customer needs, and rapid technology changes. Studies suggest that to manage change and prepare for uncertainty, IT leaders should create an organization that is more flexible. The authors propose in this conceptual paper that flexibility can be analyzed and introduced systematically within the IT organization. The authors suggest that three distinct organizational characteristics, anticipation, agility, and adaptability, be combined into a unique 'IT Flexibility Framework (IFF).' CIOs could use this IFF to assess the IT organization's readiness for change and improve its capability to support the agile enterprise. On-going research is planned to validate the IFF and its potential usefulness to manage IT change and uncertainty, while still providing cost-effective and reliable services.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationAssociation for Information Systems - 11th Americas Conference on Information Systems, AMCIS 2005
Subtitle of host publicationA Conference on a Human Scale
Pages2374-2379
Number of pages6
StatePublished - 2005
Event11th Americas Conference on Information Systems, AMCIS 2005 - Omaha, NE, United States
Duration: Aug 11 2005Aug 15 2005

Publication series

NameAssociation for Information Systems - 11th Americas Conference on Information Systems, AMCIS 2005: A Conference on a Human Scale
Volume5

Other

Other11th Americas Conference on Information Systems, AMCIS 2005
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityOmaha, NE
Period8/11/058/15/05

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Computer Science Applications
  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Information Systems
  • Library and Information Sciences

Keywords

  • Adaptability
  • Agility
  • Anticipation
  • Cios
  • Conceptual accuracy
  • Flexibility
  • It flexibility framework
  • Planned flexibility
  • Structured flexibility
  • Work system principles

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