Validating the coevolutionary principles of business and IS alignment via agent-based modeling. Issue 5 (3rd September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Mengmeng; Chen, Honghui; Lyytinen, Kalle
• Is Part Of: European journal of information systems. Volume 30:Issue 5(2021)
• Page Start: 496
• Page End: 511
• Publication Date: 2021-09-03
• Subjects: Coevolutionary principles -- business-IS alignment -- ABM -- CAS; Information technology -- Periodicals; Information technology -- Europe -- Periodicals; Management information systems -- Periodicals; Management information systems -- Europe -- Periodicals; 658.403805
• DOI: 10.1080/0960085X.2020.1801360
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0960-085X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper provides theoretical and practical implications for the application of agent-based models (ABMs) to address the issue of coevolutionary business-IS alignment. The implications stem from the following arguments: (a) the alignment issue can be modelled by an ABM to describe the features of complex adaptive systems (CAS); (b) the coevolutionary principles of business and IS alignment stipulate individual behaviours and guide organisational order; (c) ABM development and experimentation offer guidance to better explain how organisations control the alignment trajectory with coevolutionary principles. To extend the extant coevolutionary research on alignment, this paper develops an ABM for a hierarchical organisational structure and validates three coevolutionary principles.