The role of life cycle concepts in the assessment of interorganizational alignment
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02635570810847545 |
| Pages | 145-161 |
| Published date | 14 March 2008 |
| Date | 14 March 2008 |
| Author | Anne‐Marie Croteau,Pierre‐Majorique Léger,Luc Cassivi |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
The role of life cycle concepts
in the assessment of
interorganizational alignment
Anne-Marie Croteau
John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Pierre-Majorique Le
´ger
Services de l’enseignement des technologies de l’information, HEC Montre
´al,
Montre
´al, Canada, and
Luc Cassivi
Department of Management and Technology, E
´cole des Sciences de la Gestion,
Universite
´du Que
´bec a
`Montre
´al, Montreal, Canada
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the alignment between the information-processing needs
and capabilities during interorganizational relationships through the lenses of both the product and
the business relationships life cycle concepts, and the types of information exchanged.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper follows up on a previous empiri cal study
conducted in the automotive sector, investigating the electronic collaboration within the supply
chain of a large European Automotive Supplier (EAS). Out of the 61 respondents from this previous
study, four illustrative cases are selected to further investigate their information alignment, where
each case involves one specific relationship between EAS and its business partners based on
the supply chain collaboration classification provided by the German Association of the Automotive
Industry (VDA).
Findings – The conclusion is that the phenomenon is bimodal and requires that the different
information-processing needs and capabilities associated with each stage of both the product and the
business relationships life cycles should be considered.
Research limitations/implications – The small number of illustrative cases and the specificity of
the chosen sector limit the generalizability of the results. Without considering the various types of
information-processing needs and capabilities as well as the stage of both product and business
relationships life cycles, a biased conclu sion could lead to inappropriate informatio n and
communication technology investments and business decisions.
Originality/value – The richness of the cases and the genuine integration of the life cycle concepts
and the type of information with the notion of alignment help to identify some key aspects of
interorganizational relationships.
Keywords Strategic alignment, Business cycles,Channel relationships, Communication technologies
Paper type Case study
Introduction
Buildingand managing efficientbusiness relationshipsis recognized as a key competency
in today’s network-based business environment (Barringerand Harrison, 2000; Dyer and
Singh, 1998; Golicicet al., 2003). To maintain theircompetitiveness, many firmschoose to
concentrate on theirmain expertise and outsource many peripheral activitiesto business
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The role of life
cycle concepts
145
Received 14 July 2007
Revised 11 October 2007
Accepted 25 October 2007
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 108 No. 2, 2008
pp. 145-161
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/02635570810847545
partners(Hakansson and Snehota, 1995; Jap,2001). By partnering up in valuechains with
key allies, organizations improve their value while keeping their cost down. To be
successfulin such a network context,firms need to understand how to growand maintain
efficient relationships (Miles and Snow, 1994). Many authors have shown that building
an efficient and collaborative information flow between business partners can provide
significantcompetitive advantages over non-interconnected competitors(Aviv, 2001; Lee
et al., 2000; Simatupangand Sridharan, 2002).
With the market globalization, the fast pace of large-scale changes have an impact
on both major and minor players in almost each industry. All the possibilities offered
by the use of information technology facilitate the exchange of information. However,
each business partner is required to align its needs and its ability to process such
information with those of its other business partners. This kind of alignment is not
always easy to achieve due to the lack of synchronicity in each partner’s organizational
maturity.
Despite the literature on strategic alignment concepts, both the concepts of product
life cycle and business relationships life cycle have not been successfully incorporated
into the literature on interorganizational relationships (Chan et al., 1997; Henderson and
Venkatraman, 1999). Firms that get together to collaborate at the early stages of a
product life cycle do not have the same information processing needs and capabilities as
firms teaming up in the later stages. In some interorganizational relationships, simple
operation data exchanges are required. In other business relationships, collaborative
planning may have to share forecasting and replenishment data. In the most complex
relationships, firms need to work together on developing new products or services,
which necessitates flexible knowledge-or iented information and communication
technology (ICT) platforms. Moreover, each business relationship goes through
its own life cycle, which influences the information processing capabilities of the parties
involved. These factors may create some discrepancies between business partners
because their respective needs and capabilities are not at the same level of sophistication
or maturity.
Building on Bensaou and Venkatraman (1995) model, this study seeks to gain a better
understanding of interorganizational relationships by taking the life cycle concepts into
account. This exploration of the interfirm relationships reviews the theoretical
foundations of strategic alignment of information technology, both the product and the
business relationships life cycle concepts, and the types of information exchanged. Four
types of interorganizational relationships between a major German tier-one
manufacturer in the automotive industry and its business partners are studied to
illustrate how the alignment between information needs and capabilities is bestcaptured
when one considers types of information exchanged, and the product and the business
relationships life cycles. The results are then discussed from the perspective of a
multi-leveled assessment of interorganizational relationships within a supply chain.
The paper closes with a discussion on the limitations and further research avenues.
Theoretical background
Among the theoretical background necessary to better understand interorganizational
relationships, it is needed to review what was done so far in the strategic alignment
and interorganizational relationships areas, to cover the importance of both the
product and the business relationships life cycle concepts, and to discover the possible
IMDS
108,2
146
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