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Institute
Low-Code Development Platforms (LCDPs) enable non-information technology (IT) personnel to develop applications and workflows independently of the IT department. Consequently, these digital platforms help to overcome the growing need for software development. However, science and practice warn of several barriers that slow down or hinder the usage of LCDPs. This publication scientifically identifies, analyzes, and discusses challenges during implementation and application of LCDPs from both perspectives in a holistic manner. Therefore, we conduct an exploratory study (data from scientific literature, expert interviews, and practical studies) and assign the challenges to the socio-technical system model. The results show that the scientific and practical communities recognize common challenges (especially knowledge transfer) but also perceive differences related to technological (science) and social (practice) aspects. This paper proposes future research directions for academia, such as governance, culture change, and value evaluation of LCDPs. Additionally, practitioners can prepare for possible challenges when using LCPDs.
Nowadays, information technology (IT) is a strategic asset for organizations. As a result, the IT costs are rising and there is a need for transparency about their root causes. Cost drivers as an instrument in IT cost management enable a better transparency and understanding of costs. However, there is a lack of IT cost driver research with a focus on the strategic position of IT within organizations. The goal of this paper is to develop a comprehensive overview of strategic drivers of IT costs. The Delphi study leads to the identification and validation of 17 strategic drivers. Hence, this paper builds a base for cost driver analysis and contributes to a better understanding of the causes of costs. It facilitates future research regarding cost behavior and the business value of IT. Additionally, practitioners gain awareness of levers to influence IT costs and consequences of managerial decisions on their IT spend.
Digitalization requires organizations to strategically invest in information technology (IT). As a result, the costs associated with IT in companies are rising and technological progress changes the setting for IT management. This poses challenges for IT managers to ensure spend-efficiency and manage IT costs transparently. However, no current literature review gives an overview of how IT cost management (ITCM) research dealt with past transformations. This paper aims to investigate ITCM concepts considering their historical context. It then derives implications for the digital age and identifies future research fields. The historical literature review reveals that ITCM research evolved with technological advances and the target to manage all IT-related costs and evaluate the impact of IT spend. However, the presented concepts lack consideration of current changes that hamper spend-efficiency and strategic decisions. Hence, this paper enables future research to address the identified research gaps. Additionally, practitioners gain awareness of how they can benefit from developed ITCM concepts.
Nowadays, organizations must invest strategically in information technology (IT) and choose the right digital initiatives to maximize their benefit. Nevertheless, Chief Information Officers still struggle to communicate IT costs and demonstrate the business value of IT. The goal of this paper is to support their effective communication. In focus groups, we analyzed how different stakeholders perceive IT costs and the business value of IT as the basis of communication. We identified 16 success factors to establish effective communication. Hence, this paper enables a better understanding of the perception and the operationalization of effective communication.
In the digital age, information technology (IT) is a strategic asset for organizations. As a result, the IT costs are rising, and the cost-effective management of IT is crucial. Nevertheless, organizations still face major challenges and former studies lack comprehensiveness and depth. The goal of this paper is to generate a deep and holistic view on current management challenges of IT costs. In 15 expert interviews, we identify 23 challenges divided into 7 categories. The main challenges are to ensure transparency on IT cost information, to demonstrate the business impact of IT as well as to change the mindset for the value of IT and overcoming them requires attention to their interactions. Hence, this paper leads to a better understanding of the issues that IT cost management (ITCM) faces in the digital age and builds a base for future research.
The Operationalization of Strategic Alignment: Driving IT Value through Business-IT Dialogues
(2025)
Information technology (IT) as a strategic asset urges organizations to establish strategic alignment between business and IT stakeholders to maximize the contribution of IT. Yet, they still struggle to effectively communicate the strategic perspective and the business value of IT. In three organizational settings, we conduct action design research to effectively communicate IT business value. We develop a structured end-to-end process with four steps: initialization, stakeholder identification, strategic dialogues, and consolidation & analysis. We derive eight design principles to design and implement this business-IT dialogue format that strengthens mutual understanding and strategic perspective. Hence, this paper provides guidance for organizations to establish strategic conversations between business and IT stakeholders and advances research on operationalizing business-IT alignment.
The digital transformation urges organizations to become digital enterprises. Digital enterprises require the integration of business and IT to efficiently leverage digital technologies. However, there is a lack of a framework that guides organizations on what organizational capabilities are required to achieve business-IT integration. The goal of this paper is to identify these capabilities. From a single case study, we derived twelve organizational capabilities that a digital enterprise, driven by technology, should design in terms of its people, organizational structure, and tasks to establish business-IT integration. Thus, this paper provides guidance for organizations to approach business-IT integration as a foundation for their path into a digital enterprise.
Given the increasing demand for application development and process automation, Low-Code Development Platforms (LCDPs) have become highly relevant in recent years. However, the lack of familiarity with the implementation and application of LCDP in organizations poses a challenge. This publication therefore aims to shed light on the essential organizational capabilities that companies must master to overcome this obstacle. Using action design research, this study develops a model-based framework of 21 organizational capabilities for successful LCDP adoption. It underscores the importance of conceptual development as a prerequisite for effective management and long-term application of the technology. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of considering both technical and social aspects of the LCDP information system. The findings contribute to academia by providing a model-based capability framework, which serves as a structure for driving future research. Moreover, practitioners benefit from a practice-oriented and evaluated summary of initialization tasks and capabilities required for successful adoption.
Digital transformation urges organizations to strategically invest in information technology (IT) to keep up with the competition. The responsible strive to choose the right digital initiatives that can maximize the benefit. Thereby, they still struggle to communicate IT costs and demonstrate the business value of IT. The goal of this paper is to get a deeper understanding of the perception of IT costs and business value and support their effective communication. Applying the focus group method, we analyzed in four interview sessions that stakeholders perceive IT costs and business value differently and that a common perception serves as the basis of communication. We then identified and evaluated 20 success factors to establish effective communication of IT costs and IT business value. Hence, this paper enables a better understanding of the perception and the operationalization of effective communication mainly between business and IT executives regarding IT costs and IT business value.
IT-Kosten machen heute einen immer größeren Anteil an den Gesamtkosten von Unternehmen aus. Die Verantwortlichen sind aufgefordert die IT-Kosten zu senken oder zumindest ein effizientes Management sicherzustellen. Oftmals fehlt es dafür an Transparenz und Verständnis für diese Ausgaben. Die Analyse der IT-Kostentreiber ermöglicht ein tieferes Verständnis der Ursachen und Auswirkungen strategischer Entscheidungen. Dieser Beitrag zielt darauf ab, die strategischen IT-Kostentreiber bezüglich des Wirkungshorizonts und des Entscheidungsortes zu analysieren. Die durchgeführte Delphi-Studie zeigt, dass Entscheidungen über diese Kostentreiber größtenteils mittel- bis langfristige Auswirkungen haben. Zudem wird deutlich, dass die IT-Abteilung zwar in den Entscheidungsprozess eingebunden ist, während die finalen Entscheidungen häufig stärker im Fachbereich liegen. Zusammenarbeit und effektive Kommunikation sind deshalb entscheidend und die Verantwortung für IT-Kosten sollte von allen EntscheidungsträgerInnen getragen werden. Dieser Beitrag erweitert die Forschung im IT-Kostenmanagement und sensibilisiert PraktikerInnen für Kostenbeeinflussungshebel und die strategische Diskussion über IT-Kosten und das Wertversprechen der IT.
