3. IS Strategy

IS strategy connects information systems to organizational goals, competitive positioning, and digital capabilities. This chapter examines how systems support advantage, how advantage erodes, and why strategic fit matters.

Video

BIS 3233 - Chapter 2: Organizational Strategy, Competitive Advantage and Information Systems (54:29) by Andrew Miller

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

1. Explain how organizational context shapes the effects of information systems.

2. Apply competitive-forces and value-chain reasoning to an information capability.

3. Distinguish useful capabilities, competitive parity, and sustained advantage.

4. Evaluate network effects, organizational complements, and alignment with business objectives.

Concept Map

IS Strategy

Strategy

• Goals
• Fit
• Tradeoffs

Advantage

• Value Chain
• Switching Costs
• Capabilities

Digital Competition

• Platforms
• Imitation
• Network Effects

Glossary

#	Term	Explanation
1	Strategy	A set of choices about where an organization will compete and how it will create value.
2	Information systems strategy	The plan for using systems, data, and technology to support organizational goals.
3	Competitive forces	Industry pressures from rivals, new entrants, substitutes, suppliers, and customers.
4	Value chain	The linked activities through which an organization creates and delivers value.
5	Primary activity	A value-chain activity directly involved in creating, selling, delivering, or servicing a product.
6	Support activity	A value-chain activity that enables primary work, such as infrastructure, HR, procurement, or technology.
7	Competitive advantage	A performance edge that lets an organization deliver superior value or operate at lower cost.
8	Cost leadership	A strategy based on producing or delivering value at lower cost than competitors.
9	Differentiation	A strategy based on offering features, service, quality, or experience customers value as distinct.
10	Focus strategy	A strategy that targets a specific market segment or customer need.
11	Switching cost	The cost, effort, risk, or inconvenience a customer faces when changing providers.
12	Network effect	A situation where a product or platform becomes more valuable as more people use it.
13	Complement	A related product, service, or capability that increases the value of another offering.
14	Digital competition	Competition shaped by data, platforms, software, analytics, and fast imitation.
15	Strategic alignment	The fit between technology choices and business goals, processes, and capabilities.
16	Business model	The logic of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value.
17	Platform strategy	A strategy built around enabling interactions among multiple groups of users or partners.
18	Sustainable advantage	An advantage that competitors cannot quickly copy, neutralize, or bypass.
19	Imitation barrier	A resource, capability, relationship, or system feature that makes copying difficult.
20	Strategic risk	The possibility that technology choices weaken performance, position, or long-term adaptability.

Lecture Slides

Chapter 3 Slides

These lecture drafts follow the authored sections and aligned assignments.