[Study] Reframing the Dominant Quests of Information Systems Strategy Research for Complex Adaptive Business Systems

The competitive performance landscapes of products and services are highly dynamic and co-evolve. The author re-framed three main quests of research on information systems (IS) strategy:
(1) the strategic alignment quest,
(2) the integration quest, and
(3) the sustained competitive advantage quest.

to the co-evolution quest seeks to increase a firm’s agility and dynamism in repositioning itself, identifying profitable product-market positions as the evolving competitive landscape erodes the profitability of the firm’s existing positions

Complex adaptive business systems (CABS). 
In CABS, strategic problems faced by firms have become not only more complicated but also more complex (Camillus 2008).  Information technology (IT) has contributed to the emergence of CABS and wicked problems by fusing into the fabric of products, services, and business processes and by increasing the diversity, adaptiveness, interconnectedness, and interdependency of firms.

A complicated problem has many diverse parts and stakeholders, which increase the combinatorial space of possible solutions. Although difficult, it is feasible to find an optimal solution to a complicated problem because the parts do not dynamically adapt and mutually interact.

Complex problem or “wicked” problems has many diverse parts that adapt and morph into new forms with every attempt to solve the problem. Finding an optimal solution to a complex problem is not feasible; the parts of the problem interact with each other in nonlinear ways, selforganize, and produce emergent macrolevel behaviors that differ in scale and kind from the microlevel behaviors of the parts.

Simple Competitive Landscapes

When a firm faces few choices and the choices do not interact with each other, the emerging competitive landscape is simple. The highest point was the optimal shovel weight. (Mount Fuji )

Rugged Competitive Landscapes

When the firm faces many choice variables and the choices interact with each other, the performance landscape becomes rugged (Beinhocker 1999, Kauffman 1993, Porter and Siggelkow 2008). Multiple peaks and valleys with varying heights and depths emerge. The landscape can look like the Rockies, the Alps, or the Himalayas. 

Dancing Rugged Competitive Landscapes
When the many choice variables of a firm become interdependent with the choices of other firms, the
rugged competitive landscape starts “dancing.” peaks, valleys, and plateaus start changing dynamically in unpredictable ways: peaks that represent profitable business opportunities can buckle, collapse, and morph into valleys that represent losses, and peaks that represent new opportunities can emerge rapidly.

Complex system properties:
Complexity science informs us that a system becomes “complex” and produces a “dancing,” rugged
landscape when the elements of the system show moderate rather than extreme degrees of the following four properties:
(a) diversity,
(b) adaptation,
(c) connectedness,
and (d) interdependence

The Strategic Alignment Quest

A firm’s strategy has two components: 

(a) corporate strategy and 

(b) competitive strategy.

The strategic alignment quest has focused primarily on competitive strategy.

The Integration Quest

The second quest of IS strategy research has been to achieve IT and business process integration within and across firm boundaries (Barki and Pinsonneaultc2005). 

The Sustained Competitive Advantage Quest

The third quest of IS strategy has been to sustain a firm’s competitive advantages. However, with the emergence of CABS and dancing, rugged competitive landscapes, sustaining competitive advantages has become increasingly difficult. 

Reframing the Three Quests of Information Systems Strategy for CABS
To remain fit, survive, and thrive in CABS, a firm must co-evolve with the dancing, rugged competi-
tive landscape. IS researchers have recognized the importance of turbulent environments and argued for firms to develop IT-enabled dynamic and improvisational capabilities and IT-enabled agility

Bibliography:

Tanriverdi, H., Rai, A., & Venkatraman, N. (2010). Reframing the Dominant Quests of Information Systems Strategy Research for Complex Adaptive Business Systems. Information Systems Research, 21(4), 822-834.