The Impact of Triadic Strategic Alignment of Business Strategy, Information Technology Strategy, and Marketing Strategy on Organisational Performance

Strategic alignment is deemed crucial in understanding how organisational performance can be improved through supporting business strategy with other organisational strategies. Whilst previous alignment literature has provided foundations for identifying the dimensions and performance impacts of the strategic alignment, it is mainly based on dyadic relationships between, for example, business and IT, business and marketing, or IT and marketing, which could not include other vital variable to develop a more comprehensive understanding of strategic alignment and its impact on organisational performance. Based on a systematic literature review of prior research on strategic alignment and underpinned by the contingency perspective, this research develops a conceptual research model of triadic strategic alignment of business, IT, and marketing strategies and its impact on organisational performance. It posits that the alignment amongst business strategy (prospector, defender, and analyser), IT strategy (flexibility, efficiency, and comprehensiveness), and marketing strategy (customer-focused and competitor-focused) will result in superior organisational performance. Relevant hypotheses, together with indicator measurements, have been developed, which should provide future research directions and contribute to the better understanding of strategic alignment and its impact on organisational performance.